bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Certainty Judgements and the Status of Propositions in Undergraduate Essays
Authors: Siew Mei Wu
Published: December 2013

This paper explores the expression of certainty in a set of high- and low-rated Geography argumentative essays. Using one aspect of Hunston’s (1989, 2000) concept of the evaluation of status, the paper compares the statement types used to construe the writer’s expression of certainty in the construction of arguments. Drawing on the framework, linguistic expressions that use different statement types are presented in the light of their rhetorical functions to illustrate their role in the development of arguments. Generally, high-rated script writers make more frequent use of particular statement types, including a type of factual statement, interpretation-support and interpretation-mean statements. The latter two categories are used to reinforce the importance of evidence provided in an argument. Implications for the teaching of certain statement types and their linguistic expressions are also discussed.
Producing and contesting the formal/informal divide: Regulating street hawking in Delhi, India
Authors: Schindler Seth
Published: December 2013

There is a consensus that urban development schemes in India bear little resemblance to the well-thought-out plans of their genesis, and that the boundary between formal/informal is often blurry. I seek to contribute to this literature by showing how, in spite of efforts to implement a regulatory scheme, street hawking in Delhi remains highly informal and in a state of negotiated (im)permanence. I compare two recent conflicts over street hawkers’ use of public space, which demonstrate that power is dispersed across a range of sites and rests with a number of state and non-state actors. I argue that preconceived notions of ‘formality’ and ‘informality’ are of little value in understanding urban processes, and instead it is necessary to understand how the boundary between formal/informal is produced and contested both juridically and through everyday practices of enforcement and evasion/subversion.
Differentiation of pleomorphic adenoma and Warthin’s tumor of the parotid gland: ultrasonographic features
Authors: Rong Xueyu , Zhu Qiang , Ji Hongtao , Li Jiangping , Huang Huilian
Published: December 2013

Background

Parotid tumor is an uncommon neoplasm. Only a few studies describing the sonographic features of pleomorphic adenomas and Warthin’s tumors have been published, and most of those reports are based on a relatively small number of cases.

Purpose

To define the sonographic characteristics of pleomorphic adenoma and Warthin’s tumor in the parotid gland.

Material and Methods

We retrospectively evaluated the sonographic features of 77 pleomorphic adenomas in 70 patients and 93 Warthin’s tumors in 61 patients. The features included tumor size, shape, border, echogenicity, and homogeneity, the presence of a cystic area, acoustic enhancement, and the grade and distribution of vascularization.

Results

Lobulated lesions were observed in 49 pleomorphic adenomas and 36 Warthin’s tumors. The lobulated shape was observed more frequently in pleomorphic adenomas than in Warthin’s tumors ( P = 0.005). Cystic areas within lesions were detected in 16 (16/77, 20.8%) pleomorphic adenomas and 42 (42/93, 45.2%) Warthin’s tumors ( P = 0.001). Of the pleomorphic adenomas, 77.9% had grade 0 or grade 1 vascularity, while 73.1% of Warthin’s tumors had grade 2 or grade 3 vascularity ( P = 0.000). Flow was peripheral in 53.2% of pleomorphic adenomas. The frequencies of central perfusion and mixed perfusion in Warthin’s tumors were equal (47.3% vs. 47.3%, respectively). The differences in the vessel distribution between these two diseases was significant ( P = 0.000).

Conclusion

Ultrasound imaging characteristics, including multiple occurrences, shape, intrinsic cystic change, and the grade and distribution of tumor vessels, can be used to differentiate pleomorphic adenomas from Warthin’s tumors.
Disability, anxiety and depression associated with medication-overuse headache can be considerably reduced by detoxification and prophylactic treatment. Results from a multicentre, multinational study (COMOESTAS project)
Authors: Bendtsen L , Munksgaard SB , Tassorelli C , Nappi G , Katsarava Z , Lainez M , Leston JA , Fadic R , Spadafora S , Stoppini A , Jensen R ,   the COMOESTAS Consortium
Published: December 2013

Objective

The objective of this article is to investigate whether headache-related disability, depression and anxiety can be reduced by detoxification and prophylactic treatment in patients with medication-overuse headache (MOH).

Methods

Patients with MOH were included from six centres in Europe and Latin America in a seven-month cohort study. Before and six months after treatment, the degree of disability was measured by the Migraine Disability Assessment (MIDAS) questionnaire, while anxiety and depression were measured by the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS).

Results

A total of 694 patients with MOH were included, of whom 492 completed the study. Headache days were reduced by 58.4% from 23.6 to 9.8 days per month at six months ( p < 0.001). The MIDAS score was reduced by 57.1% from baseline 59.9 to 25.7 ( p < 0.001). Number of patients with depression was reduced by 50.7% from 195 to 96 and number of those with anxiety was reduced by 27.1% from 284 to 207 (both p < 0.001).

Conclusions

Disability, depression and anxiety were considerably reduced in patients with MOH by detoxification and prophylactic treatment. This emphasises the urgent need for increased awareness about avoiding overuse of headache medications and demonstrates that not only headache frequency but also disability are remarkably improved by adequate intervention.
The question of belonging
Authors: McVeigh Ryan
Published: December 2013

Relations of belonging are at the heart of biopolitical analysis. They determine, at the biological level, who is included in the polis and who is excluded from it. More abstractly, belonging is the conceptual mechanism of classification. By examining the specific relations of belonging within the biopolitical paradigms of four key works – Durkheim’s Elementary Forms of Religious Life, Girard’s Violence and the Sacred, Agamben’s Homo Sacer, and Esposito’s Bios – this article will highlight the dynamic of classification at the heart of each. Doing so will make the question of belonging explicit and render the dialectic of inclusion/exclusion visible. More than simply emphasizing the centrality of belonging to biopolitical analysis, this article will demonstrate that any politic over life must ignore and deny an originary politic of life. Returning biopolitics to the question of belonging thus entails the affirmation of relation and the positive association of life itself.
The de-Europeanization of the university under the Bologna Process
Authors: Moutsios Stavros
Published: December 2013

This essay discusses the changes promoted in European universities by the ‘Bologna Process’ and the ‘European Higher Education Area’. Through an analysis of the main policy documents and mechanisms, the paper demonstrates that the European Higher Education Area is designed to dismantle academic autonomy across the continent. Before setting out to examine this transnational policy process, the paper specifies in its first part the meaning of academic autonomy – a particular European creation, as it argues – through an overview of the historical material.
So You Want to Find a Transitional House for Sexually Violent Persons
Authors: Stojkovic Stan , Farkas Mary Ann
Published: December 2013

Many states passed legislation in the 1990s to address the problem of violent sex offenders. While academic inquiries into the nature and extent of sexual offending have revealed some interesting findings, very little is known regarding how communities address the issue of managing violent sex offenders. This account documents how the state of Wisconsin attempted to manage violent sex offenders once released from prison and civilly committed under a sexually violent person statute. It chronicles the experience of a committee charged with locating possible sites for a facility for sexual predators under supervised release to the community. In addition, this account shows the problematic nature of implementing a state statute in a large county and identifies barriers inherent to this process. The concept of political failure is introduced to describe why sex offender legislation is difficult to implement.
Health management education in Europe and in the United States: A comparative review and analysis
Authors: Weil Thomas P
Published: December 2013

In Europe and in the United States, health management education and the role of health managers are patterned and consistent with how the country’s healthcare system is organized, managed, and financed. In the United States, the fee-for-service, entrepreneurial dominated approach, resulting in health being one of the few remaining growth industries, has created a huge demand for additional health management education programs and managers. Therefore, universities finding themselves in an economic slump are attracted to establish health services administration programs (a North American term) since they require limited capital, continue to attract enrollment, and contribute to the “social good.” In contrast, the European countries’ healthcare systems provide universal access to care and strict, governmental fiscal control on healthcare expenditures. As a result, the American masters-level health manager model has not thrived there—although not willingly conceded is the fact that in Europe physicians continue to dominate the management ranks. After outlining a number of the current problems facing US health management education, this article focuses on: (1) a projected shuttering of the weaker American health management programs and the market for health managers being overly saturated (such as for lawyers now), because the US gross domestic product expenditures for health will decrease over the next two decades from the current level of 17.6% to be somewhat comparable to the 11.5% in Canada, France, and Germany; and (2) a projected increase in the enrollment among European health management programs for several reasons: (a) a huge spike in the demand for additional clinically oriented, health managers who can trade off concerns of cost versus quality; and (b) the constraints of most countries’ statutory health insurance plans will become increasingly more evident so that privatization of healthcare services will become an option for those with above average incomes and, thereby, generate a demand for newly minted health managers similar to the US masters-level graduate.
Bromethalin poisoning in a raccoon (Procyon lotor): diagnostic considerations and relevance to nontarget wildlife
Authors: Bautista Adrienne C. , Woods Leslie W. , Filigenzi Mike S. , Puschner Birgit
Published: December 2013

Submission of a raccoon ( Procyon lotor) for necropsy following exhaustion at a California wildlife care center revealed minimal gross pathologic changes and only mild vacuolar changes in the white matter of the brain. Turquoise granular material was noted in the gastrointestinal tract and was submitted for toxicological testing along with portions of the brain, liver, kidney, and mesenteric and perirenal adipose tissues. Testing of the turquoise material for 7 anticoagulant rodenticides, strychnine, 4-aminopyridine, starlicide, and salts revealed none of these compounds; however, desmethylbromethalin was detected by high-performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry. Other tissues were subsequently analyzed; the mesenteric and perirenal adipose tissues contained desmethylbromethalin. Desmethylbromethalin is the active metabolite of bromethalin, uncouples oxidative phosphorylation, and results in cerebral edema. Bromethalin is a rodenticide that is visually indistinguishable from many other rodenticides, making identification of poisonings by appearance alone nearly impossible. Based on the pathological and toxicological findings, a diagnosis of bromethalin toxicosis was established. In cases of wildlife species with unknown deaths or inconsistent clinical signs with normal or minimal histological findings, bromethalin toxicosis should be considered as a differential. Adipose tissue is the tissue of choice and can be easily harvested from a live or deceased animal to help confirm or rule out bromethalin exposure or intoxication.
Child Discipline in African American Families
Authors: Adkison-Bradley Carla , Terpstra Jeffrey , Dormitorio Benedict Parreno
Published: December 2013

Child discipline is a fundamental component of child rearing in African American families. The authors examined the patterns and context of child disciplinary strategies used by African American parents to address repeated misbehavior in children. Results indicated that African American parents use a variety of disciplinary strategies to address recurring misbehavior. These disciplinary strategies represented a hierarchal pattern. Implications for counselor training and practice are presented.
The Online Social Self
Authors: Kern Margaret L. , Eichstaedt Johannes C. , Schwartz H. Andrew , Dziurzynski Lukasz , Ungar Lyle H. , Stillwell David J. , Kosinski Michal , Ramones Stephanie M. , Seligman Martin E. P.
Published: December 2013

Objective: We present a new open language analysis approach that identifies and visually summarizes the dominant naturally occurring words and phrases that most distinguished each Big Five personality trait. Method: Using millions of posts from 69,792 Facebook users, we examined the correlation of personality traits with online word usage. Our analysis method consists of feature extraction, correlational analysis, and visualization. Results: The distinguishing words and phrases were face valid and provide insight into processes that underlie the Big Five traits. Conclusion: Open-ended data driven exploration of large datasets combined with established psychological theory and measures offers new tools to further understand the human psyche.
An analytical model for a bridged crack in piezoelectric ceramics
Authors: Zhong Xian-Ci
Published: December 2013

A Griffith crack centrally bridged by a single grain in piezoelectric ceramics is modeled and investigated theoretically. Applying the Fourier transform method and the semi-permeable crack-face boundary conditions, various fracture parameters involving the stress intensity factors, the jumps of electrical potential and elastic displacement across the crack, and the energy release rate are given in closed forms. The total force and the electric potential acting on the bridging grain are obtained explicitly. Numerical results are calculated to show the effects of applied electrical fields and the permittivity of crack interior on the fracture parameters of concern. Under the assumption that the crack growth depends on the pull-out of the bridging grain, the obtained results reveal that applied positive electrical loadings enhance the crack growth and applied negative ones retard the crack growth. When one measures the crack length, applied positive electrical loadings will decrease the crack length and applied negative ones may increase the crack length. The above phenomena show that the crack-face bridging grains have contributions to various effects of applied electrical fields on the crack growth of piezoelectric solids.
Experimental investigation of film pressure distribution in water-lubricated rubber journal bearings
Authors: Geng Tao , Meng Qingfeng , Wang Nan , Yuan Xiaoyang , Meng Qinghu , Jia Qian
Published: December 2013

Measurements of lubricant film pressure were made on water-lubricated rubber journal bearings with eight axial grooves. For measuring full circumferential pressure of bearing, pressure transducers were mounted on the shaft of test rig. Pressure data were transferred by means of wireless data transmission while shaft rotating. Pressures under different axial positions of bearing were simultaneously measured by different transducers on shaft. Film pressures of bearing operated under different loads, shaft speeds and water supply pressures were compared and analyzed. Experimental results reveal the existence of negative pressure region in water-lubricated rubber bearing. The maximum negative pressure appears at the beginning of the divergent region of fluid film. Different operating conditions are indicated by the fluctuation range of film pressure. For every operating condition, the biggest pressure fluctuation occurs at the axial middle part of bearing. The changes of load and shaft speed have larger influence to film pressure amplitude than the change of water supply pressure within experimental range.
Preterm birth and maternal psychological health
Authors: Bouras Georgios , Theofanopoulou Nikoletta , Mexi-Bourna Panagioula , Poulios Antonios , Michopoulos Ioannis , Tassiopoulou Ioanna , Daskalaki Anna , Christodoulou Christos
Published: December 2013

Studies have shown that preterm birth significantly influences mothers’ psychological health. This study aimed to identify factors associated with preterm birth and assess postnatal depression and anxiety symptoms in mothers of preterm infants ( n = 75) compared to mothers who delivered at term ( n = 125) in a Greek sample. Multiple pregnancies, assisted reproduction technology, caesarean section, non-Greek ethnicity and smoking during pregnancy were associated with preterm delivery. Moreover, preterm infants’ mothers had higher depression, state anxiety and trait anxiety scores. These findings suggest that addressing preventable causes of preterm delivery is crucial, while mothers of preterm infants should receive postnatal support.
A biopsychosocial model of resilience for multiple sclerosis
Authors: Black Rebecca , Dorstyn Diana
Published: December 2013

The concept of resilience remains under-researched in the multiple sclerosis literature. Consequently, current understanding of the unique and joint contribution of disability-specific variables, cognitive-behavioural skills and social resources to this dynamic process is limited. A holistic model of resilience was therefore developed and tested. Results of an online survey completed by 196 adults with multiple sclerosis revealed both direct and indirect pathways to resilience, with positive affect and self-efficacy being the strongest predictors. The findings lend support to psychological interventions which focus on promoting the personal resources and assets needed to cope effectively with multiple sclerosis.
Fifty shades of ghey: Snark fandom and the figure of the anti-fan
Authors: Harman Sarah , Jones Bethan
Published: December 2013

Early work in fan studies examined fan activities as forms of resistance, enabling fans to reclaim ownership of popular culture. Jonathan Gray (2003) and Cornel Sandvoss (2005) , however, argue that to fully understand what it means to interact with texts we must also examine anti-fans. This article builds on Gray and Sandvoss’s work by expanding on Francesca Haig’s (2013) discussion of ‘snark’ fandom. We suggest that the Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy (2012) has generated an ironic, even guilty fandom, in which readers and viewers bemoan the series’ flaws, while enjoying (sometimes furtively) the texts. We structure this as an analysis of the anti-fandom’s denigration of Fifty Shades as ‘bad literature’ and ‘bad eroticism’ to be consumed by an imagined female reader. We argue that this cultural disavowal of Fifty Shades is based upon cultural distinctions of taste (Bourdieu, 1984) and suggest that the BDSM community’s rejection of the books’ sexual politics is founded upon its own distinction of taste.
The structuralist twisting of Durkheimian sociology: Symbolism, moral reality, and the social subject
Authors: Xie Jing
Published: December 2013

The idea that has dominated French social thought since the 1950s, according to which symbolism is the origin of social life, is largely due to Lévi-Strauss’ reading of Durkheim. The problem according to Lévi-Strauss is that Durkheim tried to ground the sui generis character of social reality on collective representations expressed in symbols, while explaining the origin of symbolism by social reality, a fatal circularity in his view. This article presents a confrontation between Durkheim’s theory of symbolism and Lévi-Strauss’ simplistic interpretation of it. It considers Lévi-Strauss’ solution to the contradiction produced by his own interpretation and then criticizes that solution for failing to account for the moral character of social reality and the social constitution of social actors, which were both at the center of Durkheim’s sociology. Finally, the performative account of symbols, and especially of grammatical persons, developed by some French social thinkers – Benveniste, Ortigues, and Descombes – in reaction to Lévi-Strauss’ structuralism is considered. The contemporary linguistic analysis shows that Durkheim’s theory of symbolism, far from falling into the naïve circularity that Lévi-Strauss attributed to it, links social practice and symbolism in a sophisticated internal dynamic.
The Archival Multitude
Authors: Abbas Basel , Abou-Rahme Ruanne
Published: December 2013

Previously ascribed the position of meta-archivist in a culture marked by remembrance and retro-vision, the contemporary artist has been relocated arguably by today’s radical distribution of archival activity in and by the practices and technologies of social media. This conversation with Basel Abbas and Ruanne Abou-Rahme, two young audiovisual practitioners from Palestine, reveals some of the reasons behind this reconfiguration of the archival in its relation to the arts. Reflecting upon the emergence of an ‘archival multitude’ in North Africa and the Middle East during the past few years, Abbas and Abou-Rahme discuss the necessity of actively assessing the networked archives of the digital realm, thereby entailing significant shifts of their own artistic methodology.
Disinterring the Present: Science Fiction, Media Technology and the Ends of the Archive
Authors: Horrocks Chris
Published: December 2013

This article examines the relationship between the actual and fictional archive and science fiction. It highlights the role of technological obsolescence and anachronism as it appears in the writing of JG Ballard and Jacques Derrida in order to argue that the process of media transition, destruction and disinterment are integral to representations of the imaginary archive. The author examines Derrida’s deconstruction of Freud’s archive in order to identity his use of ‘retrospective science fiction’ and underline the term’s importance in addressing media transition in relation to the archive. It then takes the archived remains of Ballard’s unfinished short story in the Vermilion Sands collection to link the phenomenology of writing technology with processes of collecting, construction, disinterment and destruction. It concludes that Derrida’s retrospective science-fiction model might be reversed to consider the archive in terms of its post-archival function.
Between Pandora and Diogenes: Fox Talbot and the Gender of Archives
Authors: Mays Sas
Published: December 2013

Critical attention to Talbot has as yet failed to account with methodological consistency for a specific and significant way in which the archive figures as a symbolic object in his work and thought – for the way in which his understanding of visual and textual media acquires a kind of unity determined by the association of a series of terms: archiving, endlessness, and femininity. This article reconsiders key images and texts in Talbot’s work in order to re-contextualise his practices within the symbolic logic of the archive, and thus within a number of long-term transitions that concern the political, cultural, and technological spheres of later 19th-century British culture. Through this attention, and in the context of the rise of cultural and academic interest in technology and memory, the argument redefines existing historical and theoretical understanding of the gender politics of archive.
Big data, little history
Authors: Barnes Trevor J
Published: December 2013

The paper makes the argument that what is forgotten in the celebration of big data is history. Big data is presented as if it were disconnected from the past, removed from issues or problems that went before. I argue in this short commentary that the past remains potent for big data and that proponents ignore it at their peril. Rather than being a brand new approach, big data brings a series of problematic assumptions and practices first criticised 40 years ago by opponents of geography’s quantitative revolution. Those assumptions, practices and criticisms are reviewed in the paper.
Voting Present
Authors: Lo James
Published: December 2013

During his time as a state senator in Illinois, Barack Obama voted “Present” 129 times, a deliberate act of nonvoting that subsequently became an important campaign issue during the 2008 presidential elections. In this article, I examine the use of Present votes in the Illinois state senate. I find evidence that Present votes can largely be characterized as protest votes used as a legislative tool by the minority party. Incorporating information from Present votes into a Bayesian polytomous item-response model, I find that this information increases the efficiency of ideal point estimates by approximately 35%. There is little evidence of significant moderation by Obama when Present votes are accounted for, though my results suggest that Obama’s voting record may have moderated significantly before his subsequent election to the U.S. Senate. My results also suggest that because legislative nonvoting may occur for a variety of reasons, naive inclusion of nonvoting behavior into vote choice models may lead to biased results.
Association of homocysteine with type 2 diabetes: a meta-analysis implementing Mendelian randomization approach
Authors: Huang Tao , Ren JingJing , Huang Jinyan , Li Duo
Published: December 2013

Background

We tested the hypothesis that elevated homocysteine (Hcy) level is causally associated with increased risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).

Results

The meta-analysis and Mendelian randomization analysis were performed among 4011 cases and 4303 controls. The absolute pooled mean Hcy concentration in subjects with MTHFR 677TT was 5.55 μmol/L (95% CI, 1.33 to 9.77) greater than that in subjects with MTHFR 677CC in T2DM. Overall, the T allele of the MTHFR 677 C > T conferred a greater risk for T2DM [Random effect (RE) OR = 1.31(1.17-1.64), I2 = 41.0%, p = 0.055]. The random effect (RE) pooled OR associated with T2DM for MTHFR 677TT relative to the 677CC was [RE OR = 1.38(1.18-1.62)]. The fixed-effect pooled OR of the association for the MTHFR 677 TT vs CT was 1.29 (95% CI, 1.09-1.51). MTHFR 677 TT showed a significantly higher risk for T2DM compared with MTHFR 677 CC + CT [Fixed effect (FE) OR = 1.32(1.14-1.54), I2 = 0.0%, p = 0.686]. The absolute pooled mean Hcy concentration in individuals with T2DM was 0.94 μmol/L (95% CI, 0.40-1.48) greater than that in control subjects. The estimated causal OR associated with T2DM was 1.29 for 5 μmol/L increment in Hcy.

Conclusions

Our findings provided strong evidence on the causal association of Hcy level with the development of T2DM.
An assessment of existing models for individualized breast cancer risk estimation in a screening program in Spain
Authors: Arrospide Arantzazu , Forné Carles , Rué Montse , Torà Núria , Mar Javier , Baré Marisa
Published: December 2013

Background

The aim of this study was to evaluate the calibration and discriminatory power of three predictive models of breast cancer risk.

Methods

We included 13,760 women who were first-time participants in the Sabadell-Cerdanyola Breast Cancer Screening Program, in Catalonia, Spain. Projections of risk were obtained at three and five years for invasive cancer using the Gail, Chen and Barlow models. Incidence and mortality data were obtained from the Catalan registries. The calibration and discrimination of the models were assessed using the Hosmer-Lemeshow C statistic, the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) and the Harrell’s C statistic.

Results

The Gail and Chen models showed good calibration while the Barlow model overestimated the number of cases: the ratio between estimated and observed values at 5 years ranged from 0.86 to 1.55 for the first two models and from 1.82 to 3.44 for the Barlow model. The 5-year projection for the Chen and Barlow models had the highest discrimination, with an AUC around 0.58. The Harrell’s C statistic showed very similar values in the 5-year projection for each of the models. Although they passed the calibration test, the Gail and Chen models overestimated the number of cases in some breast density categories.

Conclusions

These models cannot be used as a measure of individual risk in early detection programs to customize screening strategies. The inclusion of longitudinal measures of breast density or other risk factors in joint models of survival and longitudinal data may be a step towards personalized early detection of BC.
Effect of dynamic random leaks on the monitoring accuracy of home mechanical ventilators: a bench study
Authors: Sogo Ana , Montanyà Jaume , Monsó Eduard , Blanch Lluís , Pomares Xavier , Lujàn Manel
Published: December 2013

Background

So far, the accuracy of tidal volume (VT) and leak measures provided by the built-in software of commercial home ventilators has only been tested using bench linear models with fixed calibrated and continuous leaks. The objective was to assess the reliability of the estimation of tidal volume (VT) and unintentional leaks in a single tubing bench model which introduces random dynamic leaks during inspiratory or expiratory phases.

Methods

The built-in software of four commercial home ventilators and a fifth ventilator-independent ad hoc designed external software tool were tested with two levels of leaks and two different models with excess leaks (inspiration or expiration). The external software analyzed separately the inspiratory and expiratory unintentional leaks.

Results

In basal condition, all ventilators but one underestimated tidal volume with values ranging between -1.5 ± 3.3% to -8.7% ± 3.27%. In the model with excess of inspiratory leaks, VT was overestimated by all four commercial software tools, with values ranging from 18.27 ± 7.05% to 35.92 ± 17.7%, whereas the ventilator independent-software gave a smaller difference (3.03 ± 2.6%). Leaks were underestimated by two applications with values of -11.47 ± 6.32 and -5.9 ± 0.52 L/min. With expiratory leaks, VT was overestimated by the software of one ventilator and the ventilator-independent software and significantly underestimated by the other three, with deviations ranging from +10.94 ± 7.1 to -48 ± 23.08%. The four commercial tools tested overestimated unintentional leaks, with values between 2.19 ± 0.85 to 3.08 ± 0.43 L/min.

Conclusions

In a bench model, the presence of unintentional random leaks may be a source of error in the measurement of VT and leaks provided by the software of home ventilators. Analyzing leaks during inspiration and expiration separately may reduce this source of error.
Norartocarpetin from a folk medicine Artocarpus communis plays a melanogenesis inhibitor without cytotoxicity in B16F10 cell and skin irritation in mice
Authors: Ko Horng-Huey , Tsai Yi-Ting , Yen Ming-Hong , Lin Chun-Ching , Liang Chan-Jung , Yang Tsung-Han , Lee Chiang-Wen , Yen Feng-Lin
Published: December 2013

Background

Many natural products used in preventive medicine have also been developed as cosmeceutical ingredients in skin care products, such asScutellaria baicalensisandGardenia jasminoides. Norartocarpetin is one of the antioxidant and antityrosinase activity compound inArtocarpus communis; however, the cytotoxicity, skin irritation and antimelanogenesis mechanisms of norartocarpetin have not been investigated yet.

Methods

In the present study, cell viabilityin vitroand skin irritationin vivoare used to determine the safety of norartocarpetin. The melanogenesis inhibition of norartocarpetin was determined by cellular melanin content and tyrosinase in B16F10 melanoma cell. Moreover, we examined the related-melanogenesis protein by western blot analysis for elucidating the antimelanogenesis mechanism of norartocarpin.

Results

The result of the present study demonstrated that norartocarpetin not only present non-cytotoxic in B16F10 and human fibroblast cells but also non-skin irritation in mice. Moreover, our result also first found that norartocarpetin downregulated phospho-cAMP response element-binding (phospho-CREB) and microphthalmia-associated transcription factor (MITF) expression, which in turn decreased both synthesis of tyrosinases (TRP-1 and TRP-2) and cellular melanin content. This process is dependent on norartocarpetin phosphorylation by mitogen-activated protein kinases such as phospho-JNK and phospho-p38, and it results in decreased melanogenesis.

Conclusion

The present study suggests that norartocarpetin could be used as a whitening agent in medicine and/or cosmetic industry and need further clinical study.
Expression of MACC1 and c-Met in human gastric cancer and its clinical significance
Authors: Guo Tiankang , Yang Jingyu , Yao Jibin , Zhang Yongbin , Da Mingxu , Duan Yaoxing
Published: December 2013

Background

Recent studies have suggested that the metastasis-associated colon cancer1 (MACC1) gene can promote tumor proliferation, invasion and metastasis through an upregulation of c-Met expression. However, its role in gastric cancer is controversial. Our study investigated expression of MACC1 and c-Met in gastric cancer, as well as correlated this with clinicopathological parameters.

Methods

Expressions of MACC1 and c-Met protein in a sample of 98 gastric carcinoma and adjacent nontumorous tissues were detected by immunohistochemistry. Their relationships and correlations with clinicopathological features were analyzed.

Results

The positive rates of MACC1 and c-Met protein in primary tumors were 61.22% and 59.18%, respectively. A significant correlation was found between expression of MACC1 and c-Met (P<0.05). Expression of the MACC1 protein in gastric cancer tissue was correlated with lymph node metastasis (χ2 = 10.555,P = 0.001), peritoneal metastasis (χ2 = 5.694, P = 0.017), and hepatic metastasis (χ2 = 4.540,P = 0.033), but not with age, gender, tumor size, location, clinical stage or the distant metastases (P>0.05).

Conclusion

The positive rate of MACC1 protein expression was related to the protein expression of c-Met. Both had a correlation with the presence of peritoneal metastasis, lymph node metastasis and hepatic metastasis, all of which contribute to a poor prognosis for gastric cancer patients.
DKK1 promotes hepatocellular carcinoma cell migration and invasion through β-catenin/MMP7 signaling pathway
Authors: Chen Liang , Li Ming , Li Qian , Wang Chao-jie , Xie Song-qiang
Published: December 2013

Background

Recently several reports have indicated that elevated expression of DKK1 is tightly associated with the progression of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, the biological function of DKK1 in HCC has not yet been well documented.

Methods

In this study, the role of DKK1 in tumor cell proliferation, migration and invasion was investigated using MTT, colony formation, wound scratch, transwell assays, and also human HCC samples.

Results

Both gain- and loss-of-function studies showed that DKK1 did not influence the tumor cell proliferation and colony formation, while dramatically promoted HCC cell migration and invasion. Subsequent investigations revealed that β-catenin was an important target of DKK1. The blocking of β-catenin by pharmacological inhibitor antagonized the function of DKK1, whereas introduction of β-catenin by transfection with plasmids or treatment with GSK3β inhibitor phenocopied the pro-migration and pro-invasion effects of DKK1. We further disclosed that DKK1 exerted its pro-invasion function, at least in part, by promoting β-catenin expression, in turn, upregulating the expression of matrix metalloproteinase 7 (MMP7), which was independent of the canonical Wnt signaling pathway. Moreover, introduction of MMP7 significantly enhanced the ability of HCC cells to invade extracellular matrix gel in vitro. Consistently, in human HCC tissues, DKK1 level was positively correlated with β-catenin expression, as well as tumor metastasis.

Conclusion

Taken together, these results demonstrated that DKK1 is overexpressed in HCC; moreover, ectopic expression DKK1 promotes HCC cell migration and invasion at least partly through β-catenin/MMP7 signaling axis, suggesting that DKK1 may be a promising target for HCC therapy.
A comparative study of extraction techniques for maximum recovery of glutamate decarboxylase (GAD) from Aspergillus oryzae NSK
Authors: Lee Ying Yeng Audrey , Kadir Mohd Safuan Ab , Ghazali Hasanah Mohd , Raja Abd Rahman Raja Noor Zaliha , Saari Nazamid
Published: December 2013

Background

γ-Amino butyric acid (GABA) is a major inhibitory neurotransmitter of the mammalian central nervous system that plays a vital role in regulating vital neurological functions. The enzyme responsible for producing GABA is glutamate decarboxylase (GAD), an intracellular enzyme that both food and pharmaceutical industries are currently using as the major catalyst in trial biotransformation process of GABA. We have successfully isolated a novel strain of Aspergillus oryzae NSK that possesses a relatively high GABA biosynthesizing capability compared to other reported GABA-producing fungal strains, indicating the presence of an active GAD. This finding has prompted us to explore an effective method to recover maximum amount of GAD for further studies on the GAD’s biochemical and kinetic properties. The extraction techniques examined were enzymatic lysis, chemical permeabilization, and mechanical disruption. Under the GAD activity assay used, one unit of GAD activity is expressed as 1 μmol of GABA produced per min per ml enzyme extract (U/ml) while the specific activity was expressed as U/mg protein.

Results

Mechanical disruption by sonication, which yielded 1.99 U/mg of GAD, was by far the most effective cell disintegration method compared with the other extraction procedures examined. In contrast, the second most effective method, freeze grinding followed by 10% v/v toluene permeabilization at 25°C for 120 min, yielded only 1.17 U/mg of GAD, which is 170% lower than the sonication method. Optimized enzymatic lysis with 3 mg/ml Yatalase® at 60°C for 30 min was the least effective. It yielded only 0.70 U/mg of GAD. Extraction using sonication was further optimized using a one-variable-at-a-time approach (OVAT). Results obtained show that the yield of GAD increased 176% from 1.99 U/mg to 3.50 U/mg.

Conclusion

Of the techniques used to extract GAD from A. oryzae NSK, sonication was found to be the best. Under optimized conditions, about 176% of GAD was recovered compared to recovery under non optimized conditions. The high production level of GAD in this strain offers an opportunity to conduct further studies on GABA production at a larger scale.
Nutritional behavior and attitudes in food allergic children and their mothers
Authors: Polloni Laura , Toniolo Alice , Lazzarotto Francesca , Baldi Ileana , Foltran Francesca , Gregori Dario , Muraro Antonella
Published: December 2013

Background

Avoidance of food allergens requires adapting dietetic habits, changing nutritional approach. A restriction of food choice can result in a monotonous diet and impact social life. This study investigated the impact of food allergy on nutritional behavior and attitudes of patients and their families.

Methods

A survey involving mothers of food allergic children aged 0–16 years was carried out. We primarily studied the variables related to the child (age, gender, clinical history, food and social events attitudes). In addition, Spielberg Trait‐Anxiety Inventory (STAI‐T) test was applied to the mothers. We assessed separately the associations between characteristics of child‐mother pairs and diet monotony, and attendance to social events, by means of proportional odds regression models.

Results

Nearly 10% of the 124 participants completely banned allergenic foods at home and 15.3% consumed their meals separately. More than one fourth attended parties rarely or never. Most of the participants reported a “monotonous diet”. Model results suggested significant associations between child age (p = 0.05), mother age (p = 0.05), number of excluded foods (p = 0.003) and monotony of the diet. The attendance of social events was inversely associated with the number of excluded foods (p = 0.04) and the mother's STAI‐T T‐score (p = 0.04).

Conclusions

The results highlighted the impact of food allergy in reducing interest about food and influencing patients’ approach to social life. It is important to support families in managing allergens avoidance.
The effect of excess fluid balance on the mortality rate of surgical patients: a multicenter prospective study
Authors: Silva João M , de Oliveira Amanda Maria RibasRosa , Nogueira Fernando Augusto Mendes , Vianna Pedro Monferrari Monteiro , Pereira Filho Marcos Cruz , Dias Leandro Ferreira , Maia Vivian Paz Leão , Neucamp Cesar de Souza , Amendola Cristina Prata , Carmona Maria Jose Carvalho , Malbouisson Luiz M Sá
Published: December 2013

Introduction

In some studies including small populations of patients undergoing specific surgery, an intraoperative liberal infusion of fluids was associated with increasing morbidity when compared to restrictive strategies. Therefore, to evaluate the role of excessive fluid infusion in a general population with high-risk surgery is very important. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of intraoperative fluid balance on the postoperative organ dysfunction, infection and mortality rate.

Methods

We conducted a prospective cohort study during one year in four ICUs from three tertiary hospitals, which included patients aged 18 years or more who required postoperative ICU after undergoing major surgery. Patients who underwent palliative surgery and whose fluid balance could change in outcome were excluded. The calculation of fluid balance was based on preoperative fasting, insensible losses from surgeries and urine output minus fluid replacement intraoperatively.

Results

The study included 479 patients. Mean age was 61.2 ± 17.0 years and 8.8% of patients died at the hospital during the study. The median duration of surgery was 4.0 (3.2 to 5.5) h and the value of the Simplified Acute Physiology Score (SAPS) 3 score was 41.8 ± 14.5. Comparing survivors and non-survivors, the intraoperative fluid balance from non-survivors was higher (1,950 (1,400 to 3,400) mL vs. 1,400 (1,000 to 1,600) mL, P <0.001). Patients with fluid balance above 2,000 mL intraoperatively had a longer ICU stay (4.0 (3.0 to 8.0) vs. 3.0 (2.0 to 6.0), P <0.001) and higher incidence of infectious (41.9% vs. 25.9%, P = 0.001), neurological (46.2% vs. 13.2%, P <0.001), cardiovascular (63.2% vs. 39.6%, P <0.001) and respiratory complications (34.3% vs. 11.6%, P <0.001). In multivariate analysis, the fluid balance was an independent factor for death (OR per 100 mL = 1.024; P = 0.006; 95% CI 1.007 to 1.041).

Conclusions

Patients with excessive intraoperative fluid balance have more ICU complications and higher hospital mortality.
Diagnosis and management of temperature abnormality in ICUs: a EUROBACT investigators' survey
Authors: Niven Daniel J , Laupland Kevin B , Tabah Alexis , Vesin Aurélien , Rello Jordi , Koulenti Despoina , Dimopoulos George , de Waele Jan , Timsit Jean-Francois ,   the EUROBACT Investigators
Published: December 2013

Introduction

Although fever and hypothermia are common abnormal physical signs observed in patients admitted to intensive care units (ICU), little data exist on their optimal management. The objective of this study was to describe contemporary practices and determinants of management of temperature abnormalities among patients admitted to ICUs.

Methods

Site leaders of the multi-national EUROBACT study were surveyed regarding diagnosis and management of temperature abnormalities among patients admitted to their ICUs.

Results

Of the 162 ICUs originally included in EUROBACT, responses were received from 139 (86%) centers in 23 countries in Europe (117), South America (8), Asia (5), North America (4), Australia (3) and Africa (2). A total of 117 (84%) respondents reported use of a specific temperature threshold in their ICU to define fever. A total of 14 different discrete levels were reported with a median of 38.2°C (inter-quartile range, IQR, 38.0°C to 38.5°C). The use of thermometers was protocolized in 91 (65%) ICUs and a wide range of methods were reportedly used, with axillary, tympanic and urinary bladder sites as the most common as primary modalities. Only 31 (22%) of respondents indicated that there was a formal written protocol for temperature control among febrile patients in their ICUs. In most or all cases practice was to control temperature, to use acetaminophen, and to perform a full septic workup in febrile patients and that this was usually directed by physician order. While reported practice was to treat nearly all patients with neurological impairment and most patients with acute coronary syndromes and infections, severe sepsis and septic shock, this was not the case for most patients with liver failure and fever.

Conclusions

A wide range of definitions and management practices were reported regarding temperature abnormalities in the critically ill. Documenting temperature abnormality management practices, including variability in clinical care, is important to inform planning of future studies designed to optimize infection and temperature management strategies in the critically ill.
Tumor Mismatch Repair Immunohistochemistry and DNA MLH1 Methylation Testing of Patients With Endometrial Cancer Diagnosed at Age Younger Than 60 Years Optimizes Triage for Population-Level Germline Mismatch Repair Gene Mutation Testing
Authors: Buchanan Daniel D. , Tan Yen Y. , Walsh Michael D. , Clendenning Mark , Metcalf Alexander M. , Ferguson Kaltin , Arnold Sven T. , Thompson Bryony A. , Lose Felicity A. , Parsons Michael T. , Walters Rhiannon J. , Pearson Sally-Ann , Cummings Margaret , Oehler Martin K. , Blomfield Penelope B. , Quinn Michael A. , Kirk Judy A. , Stewart Colin J. , Obermair Andreas , Young Joanne P. , Webb Penelope M. , Spurdle Amanda B.
Published: December 2013

Purpose

Clinicopathologic data from a population-based endometrial cancer cohort, unselected for age or family history, were analyzed to determine the optimal scheme for identification of patients with germline mismatch repair (MMR) gene mutations.

Patients and Methods

Endometrial cancers from 702 patients recruited into the Australian National Endometrial Cancer Study (ANECS) were tested for MMR protein expression using immunohistochemistry (IHC) and for MLH1 gene promoter methylation in MLH1-deficient cases. MMR mutation testing was performed on germline DNA of patients with MMR-protein deficient tumors. Prediction of germline mutation status was compared for combinations of tumor characteristics, age at diagnosis, and various clinical criteria (Amsterdam, Bethesda, Society of Gynecologic Oncology, ANECS).

Results

Tumor MMR-protein deficiency was detected in 170 (24%) of 702 cases. Germline testing of 158 MMR-deficient cases identified 22 truncating mutations (3% of all cases) and four unclassified variants. Tumor MLH1 methylation was detected in 99 (89%) of 111 cases demonstrating MLH1/PMS2 IHC loss; all were germline MLH1 mutation negative. A combination of MMR IHC plus MLH1 methylation testing in women younger than 60 years of age at diagnosis provided the highest positive predictive value for the identification of mutation carriers at 46% versus ≤ 41% for any other criteria considered.

Conclusion

Population-level identification of patients with MMR mutation-positive endometrial cancer is optimized by stepwise testing for tumor MMR IHC loss in patients younger than 60 years, tumor MLH1 methylation in individuals with MLH1 IHC loss, and germline mutations in patients exhibiting loss of MSH6, MSH2, or PMS2 or loss of MLH1/PMS2 with absence of MLH1 methylation.