bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Impact of Different Levels of iPTH on All-Cause Mortality in Dialysis Patients with Secondary Hyperparathyroidism after Parathyroidectomy
Authors: Xi Qiu Ping , Xie Xi Sheng , Zhang Ling , Zhang Rui , Xiao Yue Fei , Jin Cheng Gang , Li Yan Bo , Wang Lin , Zhang Xiao Xuan , Du Shu Tong
Published: June 2017

Background. Secondary hyperparathyroidism (SHPT) usually required parathyroidectomy (PTX) when drugs treatment is invalid. Analysis was done on the impact of different intact parathyroid hormone (iPTH) after the PTX on all-cause mortality. Methods. An open, retrospective, multicenter cohort design was conducted. The sample included 525 dialysis patients with SHPT who had undergone PTX. Results. 404 patients conformed to the standard, with 36 (8.91%) deaths during the 11 years of follow-up. One week postoperatively, different levels of serum iPTH were divided into four groups: A: ≤20 pg/mL; B: 21–150 pg/mL; C: 151–600 pg/mL; and D: >600 pg/mL. All-cause mortality in groups with different iPTH levels appeared as follows: A (8.29%), B (3.54%), C (10.91%), and D (29.03%). The all-cause mortality of B was the lowest, with D the highest. We used group A as reference (hazard ratio (HR) = 1) compared with the other groups, and HRs on groups B, C, and D appeared as 0.57, 1.43, and 3.45, respectively. Conclusion. The all-cause mortality was associated with different levels of iPTH after the PTX. We found that iPTH > 600 pg/mL appeared as a factor which increased the risk of all-cause mortality. When iPTH levels were positively and effectively reducing, the risk of all-cause mortality also decreased. The most appropriate level of postoperative iPTH seemed to be 21–150 pg/mL.
Methods of MicroRNA Promoter Prediction and Transcription Factor Mediated Regulatory Network
Authors: Zhao Yuming , Wang Fang , Chen Su , Wan Jun , Wang Guohua
Published: June 2017

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are short (~22 nucleotides) noncoding RNAs and disseminated throughout the genome, either in the intergenic regions or in the intronic sequences of protein-coding genes. MiRNAs have been proved to play important roles in regulating gene expression. Hence, understanding the transcriptional mechanism of miRNA genes is a very critical step to uncover the whole regulatory network. A number of miRNA promoter prediction models have been proposed in the past decade. This review summarized several most popular miRNA promoter prediction models which used genome sequence features, or other features, for example, histone markers, RNA Pol II binding sites, and nucleosome-free regions, achieved by high-throughput sequencing data. Some databases were described as resources for miRNA promoter information. We then performed comprehensive discussion on prediction and identification of transcription factor mediated microRNA regulatory networks.
Exponentially Modified Peak Functions in Biomedical Sciences and Related Disciplines
Authors: Golubev A.
Published: June 2017

In many cases relevant to biomedicine, a variable time, which features a certain distribution, is required for objects of interest to pass from an initial to an intermediate state, out of which they exit at random to a final state. In such cases, the distribution of variable times between exiting the initial and entering the final state must conform to the convolution of the first distribution and a negative exponential distribution. A common example is the exponentially modified Gaussian (EMG), which is widely used in chromatography for peak analysis and is long known as ex-Gaussian in psychophysiology, where it is applied to times from stimulus to response. In molecular and cell biology, EMG, compared with commonly used simple distributions, such as lognormal, gamma, and Wald, provides better fits to the variabilities of times between consecutive cell divisions and transcriptional bursts and has more straightforwardly interpreted parameters. However, since the range of definition of the Gaussian component of EMG is unlimited, data approximation with EMG may extend to the negative domain. This extension may seem negligible when the coefficient of variance of the Gaussian component is small but becomes considerable when the coefficient increases. Therefore, although in many cases an EMG may be an acceptable approximation of data, an exponentially modified nonnegative peak function, such as gamma-distribution, can make more sense in physical terms. In the present short review, EMG and exponentially modified gamma-distribution (EMGD) are discussed with regard to their applicability to data on cell cycle, gene expression, physiological responses to stimuli, and other cases, some of which may be interpreted as decision-making. In practical fitting terms, EMG and EMGD are equivalent in outperforming other functions; however, when the coefficient of variance of the Gaussian component of EMG is greater than ca. 0.4, EMGD is preferable.
Effects of an Intensive Lifestyle Intervention to Treat Overweight/Obese Children and Adolescents
Authors: Ranucci Claudia , Pippi Roberto , Buratta Livia , Aiello Cristina , Gianfredi Vincenza , Piana Natalia , Reginato Elisa , Tirimagni Alberto , Chiodini Emanuele , Sbroma Tomaro Emilia , Gili Alessio , De Feo Pierpaolo , Fanelli Carmine , Mazzeschi Claudia
Published: June 2017

Objective.The purpose of the present study is to examine the effects of a multidisciplinary lifestyle intervention to treat overweight/obese children and adolescents. The main outcome was cardiometabolic risk based on the waist-to-height ratio (WHTR) measurement. Secondary outcomes were (1) changes in body composition; (2) adherence to a Mediterranean diet; and (3) physical performance.Method.The study involved 74 overweight/obese children or adolescents. The intervention was multidisciplinary including nutrition, exercise, and psychological aspects based on a family-based approach; it was delivered for six months for children and three months for adolescents. Before and after the intervention, several anthropometric measures (height, body weight, body mass index or BMI, waist circumference, and body composition), cardiometabolic risk index (waist-to-height ratio or WHTR), and nutrition habits of the participants and their families were evaluated. In addition, a set of functional motor fitness tests was performed to evaluate physical performance measures.Results.After the intervention both children and adolescents showed a significant reduction in body weight, BMI, waist circumference, fat mass, and WHTR index and an improvement of fat-free mass, adherence to the Mediterranean diet, and physical fitness performance.Conclusion.A family-based multidisciplinary approach is effective in the short term in ameliorating the health status, the nutrition habits, and physical performance in children and adolescents.
Multicenter Phase 2 Study about the Safety of No Antimicrobial Prophylaxis Use in Low-Risk Patients Undergoing Laparoscopic Distal Gastrectomy for Gastric Carcinoma (KSWEET-01 Study)
Authors: Jeong Oh , Jung Mi Ran , Ryu Seong Yeob , Park Young-Kyu , Kim Min Chan , Kim Ki Han , Ryu Seung Wan , Kwon In Gyu , Son Young Gil
Published: June 2017

Background. Recent studies have shown a lower risk of surgical site infections (SSI) after laparoscopic distal gastrectomy compared to open surgery. This is a phase 2 study aiming to determine the incidence of SSI after laparoscopic distal gastrectomy without using antimicrobial prophylaxis (AMP). Methods. cT1N0 gastric cancers that were subject to laparoscopic distal gastrectomy were enrolled. Based on the unacceptable SSI incidence of ≥12.5% and the target SSI incidence of ≤5%, 105 patients were enrolled with an α of 0.05 and a power of 80% (ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT02200315). Results. In intention-to-treat analysis, patients did not reach the target SSI rate (12.4%, 95% confidence  interval=6.8%–19.8%). Of patients, 44 patients had a protocol violation, such as extended lymph node dissection (LND) or inappropriate nonpharmacological SSI prevention measures. Per-protocol analysis excluding these patients (n=61) showed a SSI rate of 4.9%, which was within the target SSI range. Multivariate analysis revealed that extracorporeal anastomosis and extended LND were independent risk factors for SSI. Conclusions. This study failed to reach the target SSI rate without using AMP. However, per-protocol analysis suggests that no AMP might be feasible when limited LND and adequate SSI prevention measures were performed.
Composite End Points in Clinical Research
Authors: Armstrong Paul W. , Westerhout Cynthia M.
Published: June 2017

Advances in cardiovascular medicine fueled by innovative clinical trials have dramatically improved the lives of patients worldwide. Commensurate with this progress has been a decline in morbid and mortal events. Accordingly, an increased propensity to collate patient outcomes in clinical trials has emerged that combines death and nonfatal complications into a single composite event. Despite the acknowledged benefits in trial efficiency from such an approach, this method assumes uniform directionality of each component, does not distinguish the relative clinical significance of each, and counts only the first occurrence of any event in the final tally within a conventional time to first event analysis. In this article, we evaluate the criticisms that have been leveled at this approach and provide an overview of recently published phase III cardiovascular trials using primary composite end points. We then explore what to anticipate from the large cohort of as-yet unpublished clinical trials in this arena. Last, we propose a variety of novel approaches that use composite end points and suggest a path forward to enhancing their use in future clinical trials.
Here Comes Trouble
Authors: Glantz Stanton A. , Rutherford John D.
Published: June 2017

Dr Glantz is Professor of Medicine in the Division of Cardiology, the Truth Initiative Distinguished Professor of Tobacco Control, and Director of the Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education at the University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine. He obtained a BSc in aerospace engineering from the University of Cincinnati in 1969 and an MSc and PhD in applied mechanics from Stanford University. He is the author of 4 books, including
The Cigarette Papers
and
Primer of Biostatistics
. He is also a member of the University of California, San Francisco Cardiovascular Research Institute and Institute for Health Policy Studies and Co-leader of the University of California, San Francisco Comprehensive Cancer Center Tobacco Program. He was elected to the Institute of Medicine in 2005.
Information literacy and informed learning:
Authors: Bruce Christine , Demasson Andrew , Hughes Hilary , Lupton Mandy , Sayyad Abdi Elham , Maybee Clarence , Somerville Mary , Mirjamdotter Anita
Published: June 2017

Our paper draws together conceptual innovations emerging from the work of a group of researchers focussed on the relational approach to information literacy, more recently labelled ‘informed learning’. Team members have been working together in various configurations for periods ranging from seven to seventeen years. Our collaborative approach continues to yield new concepts and constructs which we believe to be of value to ongoing research and practice. Some of the ideas discussed have been previouly published, while others are being put forward for the first time. All are significant in that they together form new constructs that have emerged from a focus on the relational approach to information literacy. In this paper, Christine Bruce introduces the background to this work and the contributing researchers. Then the individual authors present the key directions which they have developed and are leading, typically working with one or more of the wider network. The key ideas presented are: The expressive window for information literacy (Mandy Lupton); information experience design (Elham Sayyad Abdi); cross-contextuality and experienced identity (Andrew Demasson); informed learning design (Clarence Maybee); spaces for inclusive informed learning (Hilary Hughes); and informed systems (Mary Somerville and Anita Mirjamdotter). In each piece, authors reflect on what the idea is about, where it came from and what it might mean for research and practice.
Posing the million dollar question:
Authors: Head Alison
Published: June 2017

This paper reflects on the increase of information literacy research about the workplace and lifelong learning during the past 10 years. Librarians have long held that lifelong learning is the goal of information literacy instruction and training, but until the last decade, there has been a paucity of research about the information-seeking behaviour of students after they graduate. The origins and drivers of this shift in the research agenda are examined, drawing on US research studies by Project Information Literacy (PIL), and related research from around the world. Key takeaways from this body of work are discussed in addition to the implications findings have for academic librarians teaching and working with university students. Directions for future research are identified and discussed.
Information literacy is a subversive activity:
Authors: Walton Geoff
Published: June 2017

The theory of information discernment discussed here is firmly based on models, research and scholarship of information literacy coupled with theory and research in information behaviour. This paper will explore original research conducted by Walton and Hepworth and how it has developed over the last 10 years - the pilot study was reported in the very first edition of this journal in 2007. It will show that it has led to the emergence of the concept of information discernment and how Foucault’s discourse analysis theory has been used to further critically analyse its application. This paper will show how the research has been applied in a range of contexts, from enabling students in their first year of A-level study in the UK to carry out better research for their extended project qualification (EPQ), to teaching information literacy to undergraduates in various disciplines. This research will then be synthesised to create a new theory of information discernment summarised as: the ways in which social, psychological, behavioural and information source factors influence peoples’ judgements about information. I argue that information discernment should be included in future notions of information literacy and, in particular, informs the ACRL (2016) key threshold concept that authority is constructed and contextual. Attendant psychological notions of worldview, misinformation, confirmation bias, motivated reasoning and epistemic beliefs will be explored to determine how these articulate and enrich this new theory. The paper explores how this theory can be applied in practice beyond the learning environment, and argues that, ultimately, information literacy is a subversive activity which challenges received notions of the construction, communication and exchange of information and knowledge.
Information literacy:
Authors: Webber Sheila , Johnston Bill
Published: June 2017

In this article the authors argue that progress in the development of information literacy (IL) has been hindered by tendencies such as: denying that information literacy is even a subject, paying exclusive attention to forces outside the discipline and forming information literacy silos. The authors start by reflecting on formative developments in information literacy outside North America in the late 1990s-early 2000s, and noting that IL has not evolved from that period as much as one might expect. They identify hindrances to information literacy’s formation as a discipline, and relate their discussion to changing notions of disciplinarity. The authors present ‘Information Literacy in the lifecourse’ as an example focus which could stimulate engagement from researchers and practitioners who are currently situated in different information literacy silos. They conclude that taking a disciplinary and lifecourse approach to information literacy would open up opportunities for working in a collegiate way, both within the information literacy community and with those outside it, and provide a more robust foundation for influencing policy.
Information Literacy:
Authors: Todd Ross
Published: June 2017

This paper, somewhat an incomplete historical overview and personal perspective, outlines a number of key challenges and opportunities in relation to future directions and developments in information literacy as a field of research and professional practice. It gives attention to significant foundational (selective) scholarship in the field, identifies a number of challenges in relation to theoretical frameworks, research needs, determining outcomes and impacts, and pedagogical frameworks for information literacy instruction. It is posited that addressing these challenges can play a role in sustaining information literacy as a significant educational and social agenda.
A Meta-Analysis of Outcomes After In Situ Reconstructions for Aortic Graft Infection
Authors: Batt Michel , Feugier Patrick , Camou Fabrice , Coffy Amandine , Senneville Eric , Caillon Jocelyne , Calvet Brigitte , Chidiac Christian , Laurent Frederic , Revest Matthieu , Daures Jean Pierre ,   on behalf of the Research Group for Vascular Graft Infection
Published: June 2017

Objective:

To confirm the advantage of in situ reconstruction (ISR) over extra-anatomic reconstruction (EAR) for aortic graft infection and determine the most appropriate conduit including autogenous veins, cryopreserved allografts, and synthetic prosthesis (standard, rifampicin of silver polyesters).

Methods:

A meta-analysis was conducted with rate of mortality, graft occlusion, amputation, and reinfection. A meta-regression was performed with 4 factors: patients’ age, presence of prosthetic-duodenal fistula (PDF), virulent organisms, or nonvirulent organisms.

Results:

In situ reconstruction over EAR seems to favor all events. For the 5 conduits used for ISR, according to operative mortality, age of the patients looks to have a positive correlation only for silver polyester and no conduit present any advantage in the presence of PDF. Reinfection seems to be not significantly different for the 5 conduits, and only autogenous veins appear to have a positive correlation with infecting organisms.

Conclusion:

In situ reconstruction may be considered as first-line treatment. Our results suggest that silver polyesters appear to be most appropriate for older patients, and in order to limit reinfection, autogenous veins are probably the most suitable conduit.
Encouraging the Musically Gifted
Authors: Wilson M. Emett
Published: June 2017

Why do children who have shown considerable promise as potentially gifted musicians not only sometimes fail to achieve the promise they have shown, but approach maturity showing little interest in music? An attempt to answer this question follows. Two responses are from eminent educators in the field of music. A third provides some insight into the question via a case history of a musically gifted child who at this moment has a brilliant future before him.
Four Night Shifts Have a Degree of Performance Adaptation
Authors: Chang Yu-San , Wu Yu-Hsuan , Chen Hsiang-Lan , Hsu Chung-Yao
Published: June 2017

Objective:

In this case control study, we investigated the process of adaptation to night shift (NS) work and recovery back to a day schedule among nurses working a fast-rotation three-shift schedule.

Background:

There is limited knowledge of how specific patterns of a fast-rotation shift affect nurses’ performance.

Method:

The cognitive performance of off-duty nurses (OD; n = 21), those working the first night of an NS (1NS; n = 21) and the last night of two ( n = 21), three ( n = 20), and four (4NS; n = 21) successive NSs were compared. Changes in sleep propensity, cognitive function, and anxiety were compared in the daytime after working four successive NSs followed by 24 hr off (4NS-off; n = 18) and in those off duty.

Results:

The visual attention task (VAT) of cognitive function was significantly worse in the 1NS group and significantly better on the last night in the 4NS group than in the other NS groups. The nurses in the 4NS-off group were less alert and had poorer VAT performance than the OD group during the daytime.

Conclusion:

The nurses working on NS experienced a decrease in VAT performance due to acute changes in circadian rhythm but also significant performance adaptation after four consecutive NSs. One off-duty day was insufficient to recover back to a daytime shift after four consecutive NSs.

Application:

In a fast-rotation three-shift schedule, performance adaptation occurred in the nurses who worked four consecutive NSs, and more than one off-duty day are needed to recover back to daytime shift after those NSs.
When organizational politics matters: The effects of the perceived frequency and distance of experienced politics
Authors: Maslyn John M , Farmer Steven M , Bettenhausen Kenneth L
Published: June 2017

Drawing from literature linking organizational politics with effects of challenge or hindrance stressors, this study investigated the effects of the frequency and psychological distance of positive and negative conceptualizations of perceived politics on the impact to the individual. It was hypothesized that the frequency of political behavior would exhibit an inverted-U-function relationship with favorable evaluations of political behavior and that this relationship would be moderated by distance. Two independent samples were used to test the hypotheses. Results for negative conceptualizations of perceived politics indicated a curvilinear frequency–evaluation relationship such that moderate levels of negative or dysfunctional politics are evaluated more favorably than either high or low levels. The distance of the political behavior was further found to moderate this relationship, with distant politics having little effect on the frequency–evaluation relationship, but politics with nearby impact yielding more negative evaluations as frequency increased. For positive conceptualizations of perceived politics, results revealed that respondents evaluated this form of politics more favorably the more it occurred. Further, positive political behavior was reported to be less desirable when its impact was believed to be at a distance rather than being felt by respondents personally. Implications are discussed.
To study the contribution of different geometric parameters on the failure load for multi holes pin joints prepared from glass/epoxy nanoclay laminates
Authors: Singh Manjeet , Saini JS , Bhunia H
Published: June 2017

The present work aims to analyze the strength and failure modes for the multi holes pin joint configurations made from unidirectional glass/epoxy nanoclay laminates. The geometric parameters, i.e. the distance from the free edge of the specimen to the diameter of the first two holes (E/D) ratio, the distance between two holes along the length of the specimen to the diameter of the hole (F/D) ratio, the distance between the two holes along the width of the specimen to the diameter of the hole (P/D) ratio and side width to diameter (S/D) ratio were studied for their effect on strength and failure modes of the joint. Design of experiment with Taguchi method was used for the optimization of different geometric parameters. Analysis of variance was applied to determine the influence of individual geometric parameter on the strength of the joint. The results demonstrate that the E/D and F/D ratios are the most significant parameters to increase the strength of multi holes pin joint configurations. Their percentage contributions were about 62% to 65% and 23% to 26%, respectively. Thereafter, the characteristic curve method along with Tsai–Wu failure criteria was applied to compare the numerical and experimental predictions.
Violence, kinship networks, and political resilience
Authors: Dorff Cassy
Published: June 2017

Previous literature has shown a link between violent victimization and pro-sociopolitical behavior. This study asks why victimization is shown to increase the likelihood of political participation in regions of ongoing armed conflict. I argue that previous answers to this question have overlooked a key variable for predicting civilian behavior: individual-level social context. As a step forward in connecting social networks to behavior outcomes, I present the kinship network as a novel measure for proxying an individual’s valuable and private social interactions. Building on previous victimization literature, I suggest that to comprehensively understand the effects of victimization, scholars should account for social context. Specifically, I examine the hypothesis that as kinship ties strengthen, victimization positively influences the likelihood of political participation. To test this argument, I turn to the Mexican criminal conflict. I use original survey data of 1,000 respondents collected in July 2012 from the ongoing drug war in Mexico, and in doing so, I find that kinship plays a key role in motivating political participation during armed conflicts in that survivors of criminal violence with strong ties to kinship networks are the most likely to participate in political groups; these results are robust to state-level fixed effects and are unlikely to be driven by victimization selection bias.
Armed politics and the study of intrastate conflict
Authors: Staniland Paul
Published: June 2017

Though the two are often conflated, violence is not identical to conflict. This article makes the case for studying state-armed group interactions across space, time, and levels of violence as part of an ‘armed politics’ approach to conflict. It conceptualizes and measures armed orders of alliance, limited cooperation, and military hostilities, and the termination of these orders in collapse or incorporation. The article applies this framework to four contexts in South Asia. It measures armed orders across five groups and six decades in Nagaland in India, and then offers a briefer overview of state-group armed orders in Karachi in Pakistan, Mizoram in India, and Wa areas of northern Burma/Myanmar. Examining armed politics improves our understanding of ceasefires and peace deals, rebel governance, and group emergence and collapse, among other important topics. This approach complements existing data on civil conflict while identifying a new empirical research agenda and policy implications.
Effects of a Data-Based Decision-Making Intervention for Teachers on Students’ Mathematical Achievement
Authors: van der Scheer Emmelien A. , Visscher Adrie J.
Published: June 2017

Data-based decision making (DBDM) is an important element of educational policy in many countries, as it is assumed that student achievement will improve if teachers worked in a data-based way. However, studies that evaluate rigorously the effects of DBDM on student achievement are scarce. In this study, the effects of an intensive DBDM-intervention for Grade 4 teachers on students’ mathematical achievement were investigated in a randomized controlled trial. Multilevel analyses showed that although no main effect on students’ mathematical achievements was found, students who received “extended instruction” benefited significantly from the intervention. Based on the results, recommendations for the design of new DBDM-interventions and for their evaluation are presented.
Parental Grief After Offspring Suicide and Adaptation to the Loss in Japan
Authors: Kawashima Daisuke , Kawano Kenji
Published: June 2017

Several reports have indicated that grief and mental health outcomes of people bereaved by suicide vary by their relationship to the deceased. Parents who have lost offspring experience higher levels of distress than those with other relationships to the deceased. However, there are limited studies investigating the experience of parental bereavement by suicide, and further research is needed. The present study aimed to clarify the differences in grief reactions between bereaved parents and those with other relationships to the deceased in Japan and explore a statistical model of adaptation to the loss. In total, 105 bereaved participants completed a questionnaire covering grief reaction, meaning reconstruction, mental health, social context, and demographic variables. Parents scored higher on several grief reaction items and lower in sense-making than those with other relationships. In addition, path analysis showed that sense-making acted as a moderator in the experience of loss of offspring and grief reaction.
Representing Spatial Layout According to Intrinsic Frames of Reference
Authors: Xie Chaoxiang , Li Shiyi , Tao Weidong , Wei Yiping , Sun Hong-jin
Published: June 2017

Mou and McNamara have suggested that object locations are represented according to intrinsic reference frames. In three experiments, we investigated the limitations of intrinsic reference frames as a mean to represent object locations in spatial memory. Participants learned the locations of seven or eight common objects in a rectangular room and then made judgments of relative direction based on their memory of the layout. The results of all experiments showed that when all objects were positioned regularly, judgments of relative direction were faster or more accurate for novel headings that were aligned with the primary intrinsic structure than for other novel headings; however, when one irregularly positioned object was added to the layout, this advantage was eliminated. The experiments further indicated that with a single view at study, participants could represent the layout from either an egocentric orientation or a different orientation, according to experimental instructions. Together, these results suggest that environmental reference frames and intrinsic axes can influence performance for novel headings, but their role in spatial memory depends on egocentric experience, layout regularity, and instructions.
Numbers Assigned in the Vietnam-Era Selective Service Lotteries Influence the Military Service Decisions of Children Born to Draft-Eligible Men
Authors: Johnson Tim , Dawes Christopher T. , McGue Matt , Iacono William G.
Published: June 2017

Previous research has reported correlations between the military service records of parents and their children. Those studies, however, have not determined whether a parent’s military service causally influences an offspring’s participation in the armed forces. To investigate the possibility of a causal relationship, we examined whether lottery numbers issued to draft-eligible men during the U.S. Vietnam-era Selective Service Lotteries influenced the military participation of those men’s children. Our study found higher rates of military participation among children born to fathers whose randomly assigned numbers were called for induction. Furthermore, we perform statistical analyses indicating that the influence of lottery numbers on the subsequent generation’s military participation operated through the military service of draft-eligible men as opposed to mechanisms unrelated to service such as “draft dodging.” These findings provide evidence of a causal link between the military service of parents and their children.
Comparing Associations Between Perceived Puberty, Same-Race Friends and Same-Race Peers, and Psychosocial Outcomes Among African American and Caribbean Black Girls
Authors: Carter Rona , Leath Seanna , Butler-Barnes Sheretta T. , Byrd Christy M. , Chavous Tabbye M. , Caldwell Cleopatra Howard , Jackson James S.
Published: June 2017

Despite indications that adolescent peer relations is a mediator of associations between early pubertal timing and psychosocial problems, extant studies have not explicitly examined race or ethnic-related variables that shape the peer experiences of early developers. This study compared associations between pubertal timing, same race-friends, same-race peers, and psychosocial outcomes (school bonding, academic grades, externalizing behaviors, and peer deviancy) among a nationally representative sample of African American ( n = 412) and Caribbean Black ( n = 195) girls aged 13 to 17 years (Mage = 15 years). Results indicated that girls who perceived that their development was early relative to their peers reported better academic grades. Having more same-race friends were associated with school connectedness and fewer externalizing behaviors among girls who perceived that their development was early relative to their peers, whereas late-developing girls felt more bonded to school and engaged in fewer externalizing behaviors when they report fewer same-race friendships. These findings did not vary by ethnic subgroup. Findings suggest race-related variables (in this case number of same-race friends) provide important insight for understanding perceived pubertal timing effects within this population.
Second World Urbanity: Infrastructures of Utopia and Really Existing Socialism
Authors: Bocharnikova Daria , Harris Steven E.
Published: June 2017

The disappearance of most state socialist regimes in 1989/1991 afforded scholars from a range of disciplines new opportunities to examine the history of socialist cities and their post-socialist transformations. Recent scholarship has focused particularly on such cities in their corresponding national contexts and with the passing of the Cold War, broader commonalities with the urban history of Western cities have come into sharper focus. Absent in most recent work on socialist cities, however, is attention to the broader ideological, political, and cultural world—the socialist Second World—that bound these cities and their countries together. Similarly lacking is a deeper appreciation of the specificities of the socialist city in contrast to its counterparts in the capitalist West and the global South. Read together, the essays in this special collection underscore the value of re-examining how socialist cities were once part of the myriad relations that gave the Second World its ideological and material coherence in pursuit of socialist urbanity.
What Was So Socialist about the Socialist City? Second World Urbanity in Europe
Authors: Zarecor Kimberly Elman
Published: June 2017

Socialist cities have most often been studied as manifestations of the socialist system itself, linked to the political fate of the Communist Parties in power during their design, construction, and expansion. This article revisits the socialist city and argues for the validity of the concept historically and in the present. Looking qualitatively at this distinct paradigm in Europe, two analytical frameworks are offered, infrastructural thinking and the socialist scaffold. The analysis shows that the universal aspiration for socialist cities was their continuous operation as synchronized instruments of economic production and social transformation in physical space. Distinct from capitalist cities, they had an ideological role in an economic model that instrumentalized cities as nodes in an integrated system, described using Stephen Kotkin’s term, “single entity.” The agency of the socialist scaffold has continued into the era of neoliberalism, shown here to have previously unexplored roots in socialism.
β-catenin Mutations Are Not Involved in Early-stage Hepatocarcinogenesis Induced by Protoporphyrinogen Oxidase Inhibitors in Mice
Authors: Kuwata Kazunori , Inoue Kaoru , Ichimura Ryohei , Takahashi Miwa , Kodama Yukio , Shibutani Makoto , Yoshida Midori
Published: June 2017

We previously reported the contribution of constitutive androstane receptor (CAR) in cytotoxicity-related hepatocarcinogenesis induced by oxadiazon (OX) or acifluorfen (ACI), two pesticides categorized as protoporphyrinogen oxidase (PROTOX) inhibitors. The molecular characteristics of preneoplastic and neoplastic lesions induced by OX and ACI were immunohistochemically compared to those by phenobarbital (PB), a typical CAR activator, in wild-type (WT) and CAR knockout (CARKO) mice after diethylnitrosamine initiation. We focused on changes in β-catenin and its transcriptional product glutamine synthetase (GS). In PB-promoted foci and adenomas, nuclear accumulation of mutated β-catenin was increased with high frequency. PB treatment also increased the multiplicity and area of GS-positive foci and adenomas in WT mice. No foci and adenomas showed nuclear accumulation of β-catenin and expression of GS in CARKO mice, similar to both genotypes of mice treated with OX and ACI. Interestingly, hepatocellular carcinoma induced in ACI-treated WT mice showed nuclear accumulation of β-catenin and was positive for GS. Our results indicated that β-catenin mutations were not involved in early-stage hepatocarcinogenesis induced by PROTOX inhibitors in mice, although activation of β-catenin and CAR is important in PB-induced tumorigenesis. The significant differences in molecular profiles suggested involvements of multiple mode of actions for hepatocarcinogenesis induced by PROTOX inhibitors.
Fukushima Fallout in Japanese Manga
Authors: Moscato Derek
Published: June 2017

Japan’s 2011 Fukushima nuclear plant calamity created a global focal point for debate about nuclear energy, and a notable forum for dissent. The incident, marked by the meltdown of three of the nuclear facility’s reactors, is the largest nuclear incident since the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant disaster of 1986. In 2014, the popular Japanese manga Oishinbo, authored by Tetsu Kariya, helped set off a firestorm of intense debate in social and traditional media when it published a fictionalized account of the environmental and health hazards for residents living close to the plant. This paper explores the ethical implications of such portrayals in a fictionalized medium through the theoretical lens of Jürgen Habermas and against the unique backdrop of Japan’s evolving media landscape and tumultuous recent environmental history. Habermas’ discourse ethics theory is well situated to analyze this complex case, in spite of the eventual and well-publicized suspension of the Oishinbo comic. Habermas’ favoring of a public moral discourse that is free of power imbalances, and one in which the superior argument for society as a whole ultimately prevails, helps contextualize the important but contentious discourse that took place across Japan in the wake of Kariya’s publication about Fukushima, and the responsibility of the manga in balancing the well-being of Fukushima Prefecture residents with a broader public interest. By connecting his actions to a transcendental purpose of giving voice to a marginalized constituency, Kariya established discourse within manga as a pathway to potential resolution for victims of an ecological crisis.
The Producer as Fan
Authors: Harriss Chandler
Published: June 2017

Jason Mittell argues that contemporary television narrative is marked by degrees of both structural and consumptive complexity. One way he addresses this complexity is through the concept of drillability, which he describes as “a mode of forensic fandom that invites viewers to dig deeper, probing beneath the surface to understand the complexity of a story and its telling.” This essay analyzes a particular episode of CBS’s The Good Wife (2009–2016) to extend Mittell’s concept of drillability and to explore its theoretical links to Mikhail Bakhtin’s “dialogic imagination.” In doing so, the essay argues that “producer-fans” model modes of critical media consumption required by an informed and engaged citizenry.
Kinetic modelling of [11C]PBR28 for 18 kDa translocator protein PET data: A validation study of vascular modelling in the brain using XBD173 and tissue analysis
Authors: Veronese Mattia , Reis Marques Tiago , Bloomfield Peter S , Rizzo Gaia , Singh Nisha , Jones Deborah , Agushi Erjon , Mosses Dominic , Bertoldo Alessandra , Howes Oliver , Roncaroli Federico , Turkheimer Federico E
Published: June 2017

The 18 kDa translocator protein (TSPO) is a marker of microglia activation in the central nervous system and represents the main target of radiotracers for the in vivo quantification of neuroinflammation with positron emission tomography (PET). TSPO PET is methodologically challenging given the heterogeneous distribution of TSPO in blood and brain. Our previous studies with the TSPO tracers [11C]PBR28 and [11C]PK11195 demonstrated that a model accounting for TSPO binding to the endothelium improves the quantification of PET data. Here, we performed a validation of the kinetic model with the additional endothelial compartment through a displacement study. Seven subjects with schizophrenia, all high-affinity binders, underwent two [11C]PBR28 PET scans before and after oral administration of 90 mg of the TSPO ligand XBD173. The addition of the endothelial component provided a signal compartmentalization much more consistent with the underlying biology, as only in this model, the blocking study produced the expected reduction in the tracer concentration of the specific tissue compartment, whereas the non-displaceable compartment remained unchanged. In addition, we also studied TSPO expression in vessels using 3D reconstructions of histological data of frontal lobe and cerebellum, demonstrating that TSPO positive vessels account for 30% of the vascular volume in cortical and white matter.
The Employers’ View of “Work-Ready” Graduates: A Study of Advertisements for Marketing Jobs in Australia
Authors: McArthur Ellen , Kubacki Krzysztof , Pang Bo , Alcaraz Celeste
Published: June 2017

This study of job advertisements extends our understanding of how employers, rather than researchers, describe the specific skills and attributes sought in candidates for employment in graduate marketing roles in Australia. The article presents the findings of a content analysis of 359 marketing job advertisements downloaded in 2016, in two periods 6 months apart, from the dominant job finding website in Australia, seek.com.au. These data offer detailed primary records authored by employers, and set the research apart from most studies, which rely on generic variables imposed by academics, despite the mooted gap between academia and the business sector. The most demanded attributes included motivation, time management, communication skills, and digital marketing experience. This raises questions about the purpose of a degree, and whether marketing curricula are fit for purpose. The article explores these findings and other preconditions for being “work-ready,” and the study contributes to the underdeveloped employability research from Australia.
Relationship Between Immunoglobulin Deposition and Early Lesions of Progressive Glomerulonephropathy in Young Common Marmosets
Authors: Yamada Naoaki , Hashimoto Nanako , Kamiie Junichi , Doi Takuya , Sato Junko , Inoue Takeshi , Shirota Kinji , Tsuchitani Minoru
Published: June 2017

The authors previously investigated progressive glomerulonephropathy in 2- to 11-year-old common marmosets and characterized age-related changes of the renal glomeruli and development of tubulointerstitial lesions. In this study, immunoglobulin deposition and ultrastructural changes of the glomeruli were investigated in 5 young marmosets from 6 months to 3 years of age with pre-onset or early glomerulonephropathy. In all animals, the foot processes of podocytes were effaced, and IgM was deposited into the glomeruli. In glomeruli without glomerular basement membrane (GBM) alteration, IgM was the only immunoglobulin type deposited in the glomeruli. In cases with more advanced lesions of reticulation and thickening of GBM, IgA and IgG deposits were also observed. Therefore, the authors conclude that IgM may be the primary or earliest immunoglobulin deposited in this nephropathy, whereas IgA and IgG deposition may be connected to the progression of the glomerular lesions. IgM deposition and foot process effacement of podocytes occur early in the life of affected marmosets.
Chaetomiaceae Fungi, Novel Pathogens of Equine Neurotropic Phaeohyphomycosis
Authors: Plumlee Quinci , Meason-Smith Courtney , Dieterly Alexandra , Gomez Gabriel , Porter Brian F. , Rodrigues Hoffmann Aline
Published: June 2017

Many previously unrecognized fungi are emerging as potential pathogens. One such group is dematiaceous fungi of the Chaetomiaceae family (phylum Ascomycota, class Sordariomycetes). These fungi are rare causes of opportunistic, neurotropic phaeohyphomycosis in humans but are not known to cause similar infections in animals. The aims of this study were to investigate equine hyphal mycotic encephalitis, characterize key histopathologic features, and classify causative organisms with molecular diagnostic techniques. Seven cases were evaluated by histopathology. Panfungal PCR targeting the ribosomal RNA large subunit coding region and the noncoding internal transcribed spacer-2 region was performed on DNA extracted from formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded sections of affected brain, and the resulting sequences were queried against published fungal genomes. Affected animals ranged from 8 to 22 years of age and presented with neurologic signs. Macroscopic lesions within affected brains included multifocal hemorrhage, focal swelling of the thalamus with red and yellow discoloration, and focal cerebral malacia. Major histologic findings included multifocal discrete foci of necrosis, neutrophilic to granulomatous inflammation, vasculitis, and intralesional fungal hyphae variably affecting the cerebrum, thalamus, and brainstem. DNA sequences in 4 cases showed > 98% homology with species within the Chaetomiaceae family, including Acrophialophora fusispora, Acrophialophora levis, and Chaetomium strumarium. Histomorphologically, Chaetomiaceae fungi were 7 to 10 μm wide, septate, parallel walled, and nonpigmented, with dichotomous branching in affected horses. This case series is the first report of equine mycotic encephalitis caused by members of the Chaetomiaceae family, previously reported as rare emerging pathogens in humans.
Surfactant Protein A and Napsin A in the Immunohistochemical Characterization of Canine Pulmonary Carcinomas: Comparison With Thyroid Transcription Factor-1
Authors: Beck Jessica , Miller Margaret A. , Frank Chad , DuSold Dee , Ramos-Vara José Antonio
Published: June 2017

Thyroid transcription factor-1 (TTF-1) is a specific and sensitive marker for canine pulmonary tumors but is also expressed in thyroid carcinomas, which commonly metastasize to lung. Napsin A and surfactant protein A (SP-A) are used in the histologic diagnosis of non-small-cell lung cancer in humans but have not been thoroughly evaluated in neoplasms of dogs. The objective of this study was to compare the efficacy of immunohistochemistry for SP-A, napsin A, and TTF-1 in the diagnosis of canine pulmonary carcinomas. TTF-1, napsin A, and SP-A antibodies were applied to 67 formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded canine pulmonary tumors. Although each marker had good sensitivity, only 3% (2/67) of lung tumors were negative for SP-A compared with 7% (5/67) and 9% (6/67) for napsin A and TTF-1, respectively. Each antigen was detected in a greater percentage of cells of tumors with acinar or papillary patterns compared with those with squamous differentiation. SP-A immunoreactivity was absent in all 113 nonpulmonary tumors tested. Of 108 normal tissues, SP-A was detected only in lung and in 1 of 6 adrenal, 1 of 3 endometrial, and 1 of 4 hepatic sections. Based on these findings, SP-A and napsin A are useful markers of canine lung epithelial neoplasia. Of these, SP-A is the most sensitive and specific (a possible pitfall is the need to distinguish entrapped normal pulmonary epithelial cells or alveolar macrophages from neoplastic cells) and can be used in combination with TTF-1 or napsin A to improve detection and differentiation of pulmonary carcinomas from metastatic tumors in the canine lung.