bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Identity Construction through Theatrical Community Practice
Authors: Hammock Amy C.
Published: August 2011

Despite the longstanding use of theatrical techniques in community social work practice, the role of theater in the construction of identity is understudied in the social work literature. Drawing on over 100 hours of observation and 22 in-depth interviews with members of a theatrical community education troupe for youth, I describe how participation as performers in a play to prevent dating violence constructed youths’ identities as survivors of violence. Findings reveal that the process of identity construction through theatrical community practice occurred in three overlapping phases: first, learning the language to name the identity; next, embodying a character experiencing dating violence; and third, publicly claiming the identity in group interaction with audience members. Based on these findings, I draw implications for community social work practice with youth.
‘In this country, you suffer a lot’: Undocumented Mexican immigrant experiences
Authors: Cleaveland Carol
Published: August 2011

Facing poverty and an inability to support their families through work on small farms or in waged labor, Mexican workers have crossed the border in large numbers seeking work in the US. This study explores the experiences of Mexican workers who immigrated without authorization to find work in a US suburban community in construction and the service industry. Ethnographic fieldwork and semi-structured interviews reveal the relationship of macro-level policy choices in compelling impoverished, marginalized people to immigrate despite the real dangers of crossing the Mexican/US border.
Old Age Identity in Social Welfare Practice
Authors: Wilińska Monika , Henning Cecilia
Published: August 2011

The main objective of this study was to examine the process of old age identity construction within a setting of social welfare work with old people. We sought to identify social welfare practices that construct and enforce certain old age identities. The empirical material analysed in this article is part of a study of a non-governmental organization in Poland. The method of analysis was inspired by nexus analysis, which analyses social actions through a historical and ethnographic perspective. The analysis focused on practices that produced, sustained and promoted particular old age identity. The results of this study show a complex process in which welfare professionals create the identities of preferred clients. The study shows that social welfare practice is often oriented toward imagined client identities that have little to do with real people.
Being Called to Account Understanding Adolescents’ Narrative Identity Construction in Institutional Contexts
Authors: Miller Diane L
Published: August 2011

With social workers’ long tradition of involvement in probation, juvenile court, and the prison system, correctional institutions are a central institutional context in which social work practice occurs. Analyzing the experiences of young women residing in a correctional facility for youth, this study applies Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory as a framework for understanding the role institutional contexts play in adolescents’ narrative identity construction. Multiple open-ended interviews were conducted with seven young women who had participated in a specialized treatment program during their residence at a correctional training school in the Midwest area of the United States; the specialized treatment program concerned the young women’s sexually abusive behaviors towards others. The process of collaborative meaning- and identity-making occurring between residents and staff at the institution can best be framed using Vygotsky’s concepts of guided learning and the development of inner speech. Penuel and Wertsch’s sociocultural theory of identity formation, which brings together the work of Vygotsky on social learning and Erikson on identity development, is used as a theoretical tool for framing the role that institution staff play in shaping the young women’s identities.
Going home: Managing ‘risk’ through relationship in returning children from foster care to their families of origin
Authors: Keddell Emily
Published: August 2011

This article reports on how workers and clients in child protection social work services manage the return home process. Social workers in these cases attempt to build relationships with clients that have therapeutic, educational and social control functions. Within these relationships, workers must manage competing tensions between ‘risk’ and ‘safety’ while they attempt to build collaborative relationships with parents. This article draws on a qualitative study that interviewed workers and clients within a child protection agency in Aotearoa/New Zealand. It found that workers constructed clients' problems in ways that avoided attributing moral failure or judgment, resisted ‘knee-jerk’ reactions, and had high frequency contact with both parents and children. They viewed ‘good enough’ parenting within the context of the case, believed in parents’ ability to change, and used solution focused approaches combined with contextual support to build parenting competence and confidence. These findings are discussed with regard to concepts of risk and in light of the aims of social work.
Perspectives of disabled young people with degenerative conditions on making choices with parents and peers
Authors: Mitchell Wendy
Published: August 2011

English government policy advocates providing greater choice-making opportunities for service users and their families. However, there is a gap in our knowledge about the role family, especially parents, and also friends play in the choice-making processes of disabled young people. Drawing on data from an English longitudinal study, this article begins to address this gap by exploring disabled young people's shared choice-making with parents and peers. Using qualitative data from 27 interviews with disabled young people with degenerative conditions, it demonstrates that young people want to participate in making choices about their own lives but choices are often made with other people, especially parents and peers. Processes of choice-making are diverse. Parents and/or peers are involved at different stages and in varying degrees with young people depending on personal circumstances. For example, circumstances such as young people's age and experience and the type of choice and its perceived seriousness. Recognizing this complexity and the importance of a holistic approach to choice-making, the article concludes with some practice suggestions.
‘He was your father, he raised you’: Examining helping professionals’ narratives on filial piety in Singapore
Authors: Rozario Philip
Published: August 2011

Filial piety provides cultural justifications for the enactment of the Maintenance of Parents Act (MPA), which aims to address late life financial security. Under the Act, indigent older parents may sue their adult children in a special tribunal for their financial maintenance. Although social workers are not directly involved in these adjudications, their professional functions are heavily influenced by considerations of filial piety and the provisions of the MPA. Using Foucauldian concepts of surveillance, control, and resistance as well as the narrative approach, this qualitative study uncovers professional characterizations of their elderly clients/patients and their families as either villains or victims. Social workers inevitably surveil their elderly clients and families to ensure compliance with the precepts of filial piety that undergird the MPA. Finally, this study discusses the disciplining functions of the MPA in ensuring that indigent elderly clients rely on their adult children for their financial well-being.
Health social work: Professional identity and knowledge
Authors: Beddoe Liz
Published: August 2011

Social workers in health care often argue that they must be professionally assertive in order to keep their values afloat in a stormy sea of change. The practice of health social work has traditionally been tied to a professional identity derived from a claim to expertise in the ‘psychosocial’ aspects of health and illness. This article briefly reviews relevant literature on health social work in institutional settings, with specific reference to the links between knowledge, credentials and a secure professional identity. Data from a small study is used to examine the problematic nature of professional identity and links between continuing professional education and status in health social work in New Zealand. Findings reveal practitioner concern that the knowledge claim of social work is weak and this impacts on their professional identity and status in multidisciplinary institutional settings.
Flooding the Vote: Hurricane Katrina and Voter Participation in New Orleans
Authors: Sinclair Betsy , Hall Thad E. , Alvarez R. Michael
Published: August 2011

To what extent did the extensive flooding caused by Hurricane Katrina affect voter participation in the 2006 mayoral election? This article uses voting record data from 20 election cycles, GIS-coded flood-depth data, and census data to examine the voting behavior of registered voters in New Orleans before and after Hurricane Katrina. We use a variety of statistical techniques, primarily propensity score matching methods, to examine how flooding affected mayoral turnout. We find that flooding decreased participation, but registered voters who experienced more than 6 ft of flooding were more likely to participate in the election than those who experienced less flooding. This finding confirms that increasing the cost of voting decreases turnout and suggests several mechanisms motivating an expressive component of voting behavior. Our results indicate there is a complex relationship between participation and the costs and benefits of turnout. Our findings about the characteristics of the voters who participated in the mayoral election provide insights into the scope of change for the political landscape of New Orleans.
Framing, Loss Aversion, and Visualization of Risk for a Dynamic Simulation Environment
Authors: Barnes Michael J. , McDermott Patricia L. , Hutchins Shaun , Rothrock Ling
Published: August 2011

The purpose was to understand the effects of loss aversion and framing on situation awareness (SA) and decision making for a dynamic missile simulation task. Whereas framing has been shown in numerous experiments that were based on the original paradigm, we hypothesized that the loss aversion effects were more general and would extend to conditions in which sure gains were not possible and would affect SA as well as decision making. Forty-eight students participated in a dynamic simulation in which operators had to decide which cities to defend and to answer SA probes while viewing 2-min scenarios wherein probabilities were assigned to a number of target cities as the missile attack unfolded. The authors varied frame in terms of lives lost or survived for a chosen allocation scheme and varied presentation mode in terms of either expected value or individual risk indices (probabilities and lives) as part of the graphic displays. There were significant effects on missile conservation decisions, coverage of small cities, and SA. The results supported theories positing more general effects of loss aversion related to negative affect. Guidelines related to presenting gain or loss information via graphic displays were suggested.
Expert Decision Making in a Complex Engineering Environment
Authors: Cropp Natalie , Banks Adrian , Elghali Lucia
Published: August 2011

This study investigated the complex decisions made by engineers when conducting contaminated-land risk assessments. Experienced assessors studied summaries of site reports, which were composed of different combinations of relevant cues, and decided on the risk level of each site. Models from three theories of decision making were compared. Applying judgment analysis to develop a lens model provided the best account of the data, lending support to social judgment theory. A model based on a fast-and-frugal heuristic, the matching heuristic, did not fit the data as well; nor did a coherence model based on the theory of explanatory coherence. Comparison with decisions generated with the use of industry guidance showed only a moderate fit, suggesting that the standard procedure does not accurately represent how highly proficient domain practitioners make assessments in this context. Qualitative analyses of comments made by participants suggested that they used a combined approach that applied key cues as predicted by social judgment theory, integrated into a meaningful, coherent account, as predicted by the theory of explanatory coherence. Overall, these findings suggest a novel process in which a range of information is combined to form a coherent explanation of the data but in which key cues are more influential than others.
Physical characterizations of three phase polycarbonate nanocomposites
Authors: Ibrahim SS , Al Jaafari Abdullah A , Ayesh Ayman S
Published: August 2011

Zinc oxide–Barium titanate–Polycarbonate (ZnO−BaTiO3−PC) nanocomposites were prepared to investigate effect of ZnO–BaTiO3 mixed nanoparticles on the optical, electrical, and thermal properties of polycarbonate (PC). The UV-visible absorption spectra was measured for the nanocomposites at room temperature between 200 and 800 nm and the optical energy gap was determined from the measured absorption coefficient data. Optical results reveal that BaTiO3 ceramic has a strong absorption below 300 nm while ZnO has a strong absorption peak at 367 nm and the UV absorption in these regions depends on the ZnO and BaTiO3 concentration. This indicates that the PC UV shielding region can be controlled through the mixed BaTiO3-ZnO nanoparticle weigh ratios. Also, 10 wt% BaTiO3 nanoparticles in PC insignificantly affects the optical energy gap whereas 10 wt% ZnO nanoparticles in PC decreases the optical gap from 4.14 to 3.9 eV. Results obtained from DC conductivity and thermal analysis reveal that adding BaTiO3 nanoparticles into PC will decrease DC conductivity, restrict chain mobility, and increase thermal stability while, adding ZnO nanoparticles to PC increases DC conductivity, enhances chain mobility, and decreases the thermal stability. The optical, electrical, and thermal properties of these nanocomposites can be controlled by adjusting the ZnO to BaTiO3 nanoparticles weight ratios in the PC matrix.
Functional human regulatory T cells fail to control autoimmune inflammation due to PKB/c-akt hyperactivation in effector cells
Authors: Wehrens Ellen J. , Mijnheer Gerdien , Duurland Chantal L. , Klein Mark , Meerding Jenny , van Loosdregt Jorg , de Jager Wilco , Sawitzki Birgit , Coffer Paul J. , Vastert Bas , Prakken Berent J. , van Wijk Femke
Published: August 2011

During the last decade research has focused on the application of FOXP3+ regulatory T cells (Tregs) in the treatment of autoimmune disease. However, thorough functional characterization of these cells in patients with chronic autoimmune disease, especially at the site of inflammation, is still missing. Here we studied Treg function in patients with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) and observed that Tregs from the peripheral blood as well as the inflamed joints are fully functional. Nevertheless, Treg-mediated suppression of cell proliferation and cytokine production by effector cells from the site of inflammation was severely impaired, because of resistance to suppression. This resistance to suppression was not caused by a memory phenotype of effector T cells or activation status of antigen presenting cells. Instead, activation of protein kinase B (PKB)/c-akt was enhanced in inflammatory effector cells, at least partially in response to TNFα and IL-6, and inhibition of this kinase restored responsiveness to suppression. We are the first to show that PKB/c-akt hyperactivation causes resistance of effector cells to suppression in human autoimmune disease. Furthermore, these findings suggest that for a Treg enhancing strategy to be successful in the treatment of autoimmune inflammation, resistance because of PKB/c-akt hyperactivation should be targeted as well.
Outcome of AL amyloidosis after high-dose melphalan and autologous stem cell transplantation: long-term results in a series of 421 patients
Authors: Cibeira Maria Teresa , Sanchorawala Vaishali , Seldin David C. , Quillen Karen , Berk John L. , Dember Laura M. , Segal Adam , Ruberg Frederick , Meier-Ewert Hans , Andrea Nancy T. , Sloan J. Mark , Finn Kathleen T. , Doros Gheorghe , Blade Joan , Skinner Martha
Published: August 2011

Previous studies have suggested that, in patients with AL amyloidosis treated with high-dose melphalan and autologous stem-cell transplantation (HDM/SCT), the greatest benefit is seen in those patients achieving a hematologic complete response (CR). We analyzed a series of 421 consecutive patients treated with HDM/SCT at a single referral center and compared outcomes for patients with and without CR. Treatment-related mortality was 11.4% overall (5.6% in the last 5 years). By intention-to-treat analysis, the CR rate was 34% and the median event-free survival (EFS) and overall survival (OS) were 2.6 and 6.3 years, respectively. Eighty-one patients died within the first year after HDM/SCT and were not evaluable for hematologic and organ response. Of 340 evaluable patients, 43% achieved CR and 78% of them experienced an organ response. For CR patients, median EFS and OS were 8.3 and 13.2 years, respectively. Among the 195 patients who did not obtain CR, 52% achieved an organ response, and their median EFS and OS were 2 and 5.9 years, respectively. Thus, treatment of selected AL patients with HDM/SCT resulted in a high organ response rate and long OS, even for those patients who did not achieve CR.
Extranodal dissemination of non-Hodgkin lymphoma requires CD47 and is inhibited by anti-CD47 antibody therapy
Authors: Chao Mark P. , Tang Chad , Pachynski Russell K. , Chin Robert , Majeti Ravindra , Weissman Irving L.
Published: August 2011

Non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) presents as both localized and disseminated disease with spread to secondary sites carrying a worse prognosis. Although pathways driving NHL dissemination have been identified, there are few therapies capable of inhibiting them. Here, we report a novel role for the immunomodulatory protein CD47 in NHL dissemination, and we demonstrate that therapeutic targeting of CD47 can prevent such spread. We developed 2 in vivo lymphoma metastasis models using Raji cells, a human NHL cell line, and primary cells from a lymphoma patient. CD47 expression was required for Raji cell dissemination to the liver in mouse xenotransplants. Targeting of CD47 with a blocking antibody inhibited Raji cell dissemination to major organs, including the central nervous system, and inhibited hematogenous dissemination of primary lymphoma cells. We hypothesized that anti-CD47 antibody-mediated elimination of circulating tumor cells occurred through phagocytosis, a previously described mechanism for blocking anti-CD47 antibodies. As predicted, inhibition of dissemination by anti-CD47 antibodies was dependent on blockade of phagocyte SIRPα and required macrophage effector cells. These results demonstrate that CD47 is required for NHL dissemination, which can be therapeutically targeted with a blocking anti-CD47 antibody. Ultimately, these findings are potentially applicable to the dissemination and metastasis of other solid tumors.
Low expression of MN1 associates with better treatment response in older patients with de novo cytogenetically normal acute myeloid leukemia
Authors: Schwind Sebastian , Marcucci Guido , Kohlschmidt Jessica , Radmacher Michael D. , Mrózek Krzysztof , Maharry Kati , Becker Heiko , Metzeler Klaus H. , Whitman Susan P. , Wu Yue-Zhong , Powell Bayard L. , Baer Maria R. , Kolitz Jonathan E. , Carroll Andrew J. , Larson Richard A. , Caligiuri Michael A. , Bloomfield Clara D.
Published: August 2011

Low MN1 expression bestows favorable prognosis in younger adults with cytogenetically normal acute myeloid leukemia (CN-AML), but its prognostic significance in older patients is unknown. We analyzed pretherapy MN1 expression in 140 older (≥ 60 years) de novo CN-AML patients treated on cytarabine/daunorubicin-based protocols. Low MN1 expressers had higher complete remission (CR) rates (P = .001), and longer overall survival (P = .03) and event-free survival (EFS; P = .004). In multivariable models, low MN1 expression was associated with better CR rates and EFS. The impact of MN1 expression on overall survival and EFS was predominantly in patients 70 years of age or older, with low MN1 expressers with mutated NPM1 having the best outcome. The impact of MN1 expression was also observed in the Intermediate-I, but not the Favorable group of the European LeukemiaNet classification, where low MN1 expressers had CR rates and EFS similar to those of Favorable group patients. MN1 expresser-status-associated gene- and microRNA-expression signatures revealed underexpression of drug resistance and adverse outcome predictors, and overexpression of HOX genes and HOX-gene–embedded microRNAs in low MN1 expressers. We conclude that low MN1 expression confers better prognosis in older CN-AML patients and may refine the European LeukemiaNet classification. Biologic features associated with MN1 expression may help identify new treatment targets.
Phase 2 study of rituximab in newly diagnosed stage IA nodular lymphocyte-predominant Hodgkin lymphoma: a report from the German Hodgkin Study Group
Authors: Eichenauer Dennis A. , Fuchs Michael , Pluetschow Annette , Klimm Beate , Halbsguth Teresa , Böll Boris , von Tresckow Bastian , Nogová Lucia , Borchmann Peter , Engert Andreas
Published: August 2011

Nodular lymphocyte–predominant Hodgkin lymphoma (NLPHL) accounts for ∼ 5% of Hodgkin lymphoma cases. The disease is characterized by a strong CD20 expression on the malignant cells and a more indolent clinical course compared with classic HL. Anti-CD20 antibody treatment has shown clinical activity in relapsed NLPHL. In this phase 2 trial, we investigated rituximab in newly diagnosed stage IA NLPHL patients. Four weekly applications at 375 mg/m2 were given. Among the 28 evaluable patients, overall response rate was 100%, 24 patients (85.7%) achieved complete remission, and 4 (14.3%) achieved partial remission. At a median follow-up of 43 months, overall survival was 100%; progression-free survival at 12, 24, and 36 months was 96.4%, 85.3%, and 81.4%, respectively. No grade 3 or 4 toxicity was observed. Although treatment results with rituximab appear inferior compared with radiotherapy and combined-modality approaches in early-stage patients, investigation of anti-CD20 antibody-based combinations in NLPHL is warranted. This study was registered at www.clinicaltrials.gov as #NCT00346684.
Overnight switch from ropinirole to transdermal rotigotine patch in patients with Parkinson disease
Authors: Kim Han-Joon , Jeon Beom S , Lee Won Yong , Lee Myoung Chong , Kim Jae Woo , Kim Jong-Min , Ahn Tae-Beom , Cho Jinwhan , Chung Sun Ju , Grieger Frank , Whitesides John , Boroojerdi Babak
Published: August 2011

Background

A recent trial involving predominantly Caucasian subjects with Parkinson Disease (PD) showed switching overnight from an oral dopaminergic agonist to the rotigotine patch was well tolerated without loss of efficacy. However, no such data have been generated for Korean patients.

Methods

This open-label multicenter trial investigated PD patients whose symptoms were not satisfactorily controlled by ropinirole, at a total daily dose of 3 mg to 12 mg, taken as monotherapy or as an adjunct to levodopa. Switching treatment from oral ropinirole to transdermal rotigotine was carried out overnight, with a dosage ratio of 1.5:1. After a 28-day treatment period, the safety and tolerability of switching was evaluated. Due to the exploratory nature of this trial, the effects of rotigotine on motor and nonmotor symptoms of PD were analyzed in a descriptive manner.

Results

Of the 116 subjects who received at least one treatment, 99 (85%) completed the 28-day trial period. Dose adjustments were required for 11 subjects who completed the treatment period. A total of 76 treatment-emergent adverse events (AEs) occurred in 45 subjects. No subject experienced a serious AE. Thirteen subjects discontinued rotigotine prematurely due to AEs. Efficacy results suggested improvements in both motor and nonmotor symptoms and quality of life after switching. Fifty-two subjects (46%) agreed that they preferred using the patch over oral medications, while 31 (28%) disagreed.

Conclusions

Switching treatment overnight from oral ropinirole to transdermal rotigotine patch, using a dosage ratio of 1.5:1, was well tolerated in Korean patients with no loss of efficacy.

Trial registration

This trial is registered with the ClincalTrails.gov Registry (NCT00593606).
Dicer and miRNA in relation to clinicopathological variables in colorectal cancer patients
Authors: Stratmann Johannes , Wang Chao-Jie , Gnosa Sebastian , Wallin Åsa , Hinselwood David , Sun Xiao-Feng , Zhang Hong
Published: August 2011

Background

Dicer is aberrantly expressed in several types of cancers. Applying real-time PCR, we detected the expression of Dicer mRNA in normal mucosa (n = 162), primary colorectal cancer (CRC) (n = 162) and liver metastasis (n = 37), and analysed the relationship between Dicer expression and clinicopathological features. We also correlated the expression of Dicer mRNA to the miRNA expression of miR-141, miR-200a, miR-200b, mir-200c and miR-429 in liver metastases.

Methods

RT-PCR and qPCR were used to analyse the Dicer expression in normal mucosa, primary tumour and liver metastasis by using the High Capacity cDNA Reverse Transcription Kit and TaqMan™® Gene Expression assays for Dicer and GAPDH. RT-PCR and qPCR were used to detect miRNA expression in liver metastases by utilizing TaqMan® MicroRNA Reverse Transcription Kit and TaqMan® miRNA Assays. Statistical analyses were performed with STATISTICA.

Results

Dicer expression in rectal cancer (3.146 ± 0.953) was higher than in colon cancer (2.703 ± 1.204, P = 0.018). Furthermore the Dicer expression was increased in primary tumours (3.146 ± 0.952) in comparison to that in normal mucosa from rectal cancer patients (2.816 ± 1.009, P = 0.034) but this is not evident in colon cancer patients. Dicer expression in liver metastases was decreased in comparison to that of either normal mucosa or primary tumour in both colon and rectal cancers (P < 0.05). Patients with a high Dicer expression in normal mucosa had a worse prognosis compared to those with a low Dicer expression, independently of gender, age, tumour site, stage and differentiation (P < 0.001, RR 3.682, 95% CI 1.749 - 7.750). In liver metastases, Dicer was positively related to miR-141 (R = 0.419, P = 0.015).

Conclusion

Dicer is up-regulated in the early development of rectal cancers. An increased expression of Dicer mRNA in normal mucosa from CRC patients is significantly related to poor survival independently of gender, age, tumour site, stage and differentiation.
Non-invasive algorithm for bowel motility estimation using a back-propagation neural network model of bowel sounds
Authors: Kim Keo-Sik , Seo Jeong-Hwan , Song Chul-Gyu
Published: August 2011

Background

Radiological scoring methods such as colon transit time (CTT) have been widely used for the assessment of bowel motility. However, these radiograph-based methods need cumbersome radiological instruments and their frequent exposure to radiation. Therefore, a non-invasive estimation algorithm of bowel motility, based on a back-propagation neural network (BPNN) model of bowel sounds (BS) obtained by an auscultation, was devised.

Methods

Twelve healthy males (age: 24.8 ± 2.7 years) and 6 patients with spinal cord injury (6 males, age: 55.3 ± 7.1 years) were examined. BS signals generated during the digestive process were recorded from 3 colonic segments (ascending, descending and sigmoid colon), and then, the acoustical features (jitter and shimmer) of the individual BS segment were obtained. Only 6 features (J

1, 3

, J

3, 3

, S

1, 2

, S

2, 1

, S

2, 2

, S

3, 2
), which are highly correlated to the CTTs measured by the conventional method, were used as the features of the input vector for the BPNN.

Results

As a results, both the jitters and shimmers of the normal subjects were relatively higher than those of the patients, whereas the CTTs of the normal subjects were relatively lower than those of the patients (p < 0.01). Also, through k-fold cross validation, the correlation coefficient and mean average error between the CTTs measured by a conventional radiograph and the values estimated by our algorithm were 0.89 and 10.6 hours, respectively.

Conclusions

The jitter and shimmer of the BS signals generated during the peristalsis could be clinically useful for the discriminative parameters of bowel motility. Also, the devised algorithm showed good potential for the continuous monitoring and estimation of bowel motility, instead of conventional radiography, and thus, it could be used as a complementary tool for the non-invasive measurement of bowel motility.
Possible linkages between the inner and outer cellular states of human induced pluripotent stem cells
Authors: Saito Shigeru , Onuma Yasuko , Ito Yuzuru , Tateno Hiroaki , Toyoda Masashi , Hidenori Akutsu , Nishino Koichiro , Chikazawa Emi , Fukawatase Yoshihiro , Miyagawa Yoshitaka , Okita Hajime , Kiyokawa Nobutaka , Shimma Yohichi , Umezawa Akihiro , Hirabayashi Jun , Horimoto Katsuhisa , Asashima Makoto
Published: August 2011

Background

Human iPS cells (hiPSCs) have attracted considerable attention for applications to drug screening and analyses of disease mechanisms, and even as next generation materials for regenerative medicine. Genetic reprogramming of human somatic cells to a pluripotent state was first achieved by the ectopic expression of four factors (Sox2, Oct4, Klf4 and c-Myc), using a retrovirus. Subsequently, this method was applied to various human cells, using different combinations of defined factors. However, the transcription factor-induced acquisition of replication competence and pluripotency raises the question as to how exogenous factors induce changes in the inner and outer cellular states.

Results

We analyzed both the RNA profile, to reveal changes in gene expression, and the glycan profile, to identify changes in glycan structures, between 51 cell samples of four parental somatic cell (SC) lines from amniotic mesodermal, placental artery endothelial, and uterine endometrium sources, fetal lung fibroblast (MRC-5) cells, and nine hiPSC lines that were originally established. The analysis of this information by standard statistical techniques combined with a network approach, named network screening, detected significant expression differences between the iPSCs and the SCs. Subsequent network analysis of the gene expression and glycan signatures revealed that the glycan transfer network is associated with known epitopes for differentiation, e.g., the SSEA epitope family in the glycan biosynthesis pathway, based on the characteristic changes in the cellular surface states of the hiPSCs.

Conclusions

The present study is the first to reveal the relationships between gene expression patterns and cell surface changes in hiPSCs, and reinforces the importance of the cell surface to identify established iPSCs from SCs. In addition, given the variability of iPSCs, which is related to the characteristics of the parental SCs, a glycosyltransferase expression assay might be established to define hiPSCs more precisely and thus facilitate their standardization, which are important steps towards the eventual therapeutic applications of hiPSCs.
Antiretroviral drug supply challenges in the era of scaling up ART in Malawi
Authors: Schouten Erik J , Jahn Andreas , Ben‐Smith Anne , Makombe Simon D , Harries Anthony D , Aboagye‐Nyame Francis , Chimbwandira Frank
Published: August 2011

The number of people receiving antiretroviral treatment (ART) has increased considerably in recent years and is expected to continue to grow in the coming years. A major challenge is to maintain uninterrupted supplies of antiretroviral (ARV) drugs and prevent stock outs. This article discusses issues around the management of ARVs and prevention of stock outs in Malawi, a low‐income country with a high HIV/AIDS burden, and a weak procurement and supply chain management system. This system for ARVs, paid for by the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, and bypassing the government Central Medical Stores, is in place, using the United Nations Children’s Fund’s (UNICEF’s) procurement services. The system, managed by a handful of people who spend limited time on supply management, is characterized by a centrally coordinated quantification based on verified data from all national ART clinics, parallel procurement through UNICEF, and direct distribution to ART clinics. The model worked well in the first years of the ART programme with a single first‐line ARV regimen, but with more regimens becoming available (e.g., alternative first‐line, second‐line and paediatric regimens), it has become more difficult to administer. Managing supplies through a parallel system has the advantage that weaknesses in the national system have limited influence on the ARV procurement and supply chain management system. However, as the current system operates without a central warehouse and national buffer stock capacity, it diminishes the ability to prevent ARV stock outs. The process of ordering ARVs, from the time that estimates are made to the arrival of supplies in health facilities, takes approximately one year. Addressing the challenges involved in maintaining ARVs through an efficient procurement and supply chain management system that prevents ARV stock outs through the establishment of a dedicated procurement team, a central warehouse and/or national buffer stock is a priority.
Revised trauma scoring system to predict in-hospital mortality in the emergency department: Glasgow Coma Scale, Age, and Systolic Blood Pressure score
Authors: Kondo Yutaka , Abe Toshikazu , Kohshi Kiyotaka , Tokuda Yasuharu , Cook E Francis , Kukita Ichiro
Published: August 2011

Introduction

Our aim in this study was to assess whether the new Glasgow Coma Scale, Age, and Systolic Blood Pressure (GAP) scoring system, which is a modification of the Mechanism, Glasgow Coma Scale, Age, and Arterial Pressure (MGAP) scoring system, better predicts in-hospital mortality and can be applied more easily than previous trauma scores among trauma patients in the emergency department (ED).

Methods

This multicenter, prospective, observational study was conducted to analyze readily available variables in the ED, which are associated with mortality rates among trauma patients. The data used in this study were derived from the Japan Trauma Data Bank (JTDB), which consists of 114 major emergency hospitals in Japan. A total of 35,732 trauma patients in the JTDB from 2004 to 2009 who were 15 years of age or older were eligible for inclusion in the study. Of these patients, 27,154 (76%) with complete sets of important data (patient age, Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) score, systolic blood pressure (SBP), respiratory rate and Injury Severity Score (ISS)) were included in our analysis. We calculated weight for the predictors of the GAP scores on the basis of the records of 13,463 trauma patients in a derivation data set determined by using logistic regression. Scores derived from four existing scoring systems (Revised Trauma Score, Triage Revised Trauma Score, Trauma and Injury Severity Score and MGAP score) were calibrated using logistic regression models that fit in the derivation set. The GAP scoring system was compared to the calibrated scoring systems with data from a total of 13,691 patients in a validation data set using c-statistics and reclassification tables with three defined risk groups based on a previous publication: low risk (mortality < 5%), intermediate risk, and high risk (mortality > 50%).

Results

Calculated GAP scores involved GCS score (from three to fifteen points), patient age < 60 years (three points) and SBP (> 120 mmHg, six points; 60 to 120 mmHg, four points). The c-statistics for the GAP scores (0.933 for long-term mortality and 0.965 for short-term mortality) were better than or comparable to the trauma scores calculated using other scales. Compared with existing instruments, our reclassification tables show that the GAP scoring system reclassified all patients except one in the correct direction. In most cases, the observed incidence of death in patients who were reclassified matched what would have been predicted by the GAP scoring system.

Conclusions

The GAP scoring system can predict in-hospital mortality more accurately than the previously developed trauma scoring systems.
Acoustic imaging using optimized beamforming techniques
Authors: Feldman Andrew
Published: August 2011

As computers are becoming more powerful, researchers are extending the range of applications for acoustic imaging. Coherently sampling an array of sonic transducers creates a spatial filter that can map incoming sound waves based on their direction of arrival (DOA). A staple of acoustic array design is delay-and-sum (DAS) beamforming, whereby the microphone signals are delayed to bring signals from a desired direction into phase. Summing these delayed signals selectively amplifies waves coming from the desired direction, and repeating this steering process for a range of directions constructs an image of source intensity as a function of angle (Figure 1). DAS and other beamforming techniques were developed for radar and have been applied to seismic imaging, industrial testing, and quality control.
Residual Drifts of Self-Centering Systems Including Effects of Ambient Building Resistance
Authors: Eatherton Matthew R. , Hajjar Jerome F.
Published: August 2011

There has been widespread interest in the development and use of self-centering (SC) lateral resisting systems that eliminate residual drifts after large earthquakes. SC systems often include a restoring force component and a component that dissipates seismic energy. Typically, it is assumed that the criterion for self-centering is satisfied if the restoring force is proportioned to be greater than the force required to yield the energy dissipating component. A parametric SDOF study was conducted using time-history analyses on several prototype buildings to quantify the effect of varying system parameters on structural response including residual drifts. The ambient resistance of the rest of the building was considered, as well as proportioning the system with less restoring force than the yield capacity of the dissipative component. In addition, the probabilistic mechanism that creates a propensity for reducing residual drifts in systems with little or no restoring force is explored and quantified. It was found that a restoring force that is at least one-half of the force required to yield the dissipative component will still reliably eliminate residual drifts in a non-softening system.
Developing Empirical Collapse Fragility Functions for Global Building Types
Authors: Jaiswal Kishor , Wald David , D'Ayala Dina
Published: August 2011

Building collapse is the dominant cause of casualties during earthquakes. In order to better predict human fatalities, the U.S. Geological Survey's Prompt Assessment of Global Earthquakes for Response (PAGER) program requires collapse fragility functions for global building types. The collapse fragility is expressed as the probability of collapse at discrete levels of the input hazard defined in terms of macroseismic intensity. This article provides a simple procedure for quantifying collapse fragility using vulnerability criteria based on the European Macroseismic Scale (1998) for selected European building types. In addition, the collapse fragility functions are developed for global building types by fitting the beta distribution to the multiple experts’ estimates for the same building type (obtained from EERI's World Housing Encyclopedia (WHE)-PAGER survey). Finally, using the collapse probability distributions at each shaking intensity level as a prior and field-based collapse-rate observations as likelihood, it is possible to update the collapse fragility functions for global building types using the Bayesian procedure.
Evaluation of Structural Reliability of Steel Frames: Interstory Drift versus Plastic Hysteretic Energy
Authors: Bojórquez Edén , Terán-Gilmore Amador , Ruiz Sonia E. , Reyes-Salazar Alfredo
Published: August 2011

The structural reliability in terms of maximum interstory drift—and, alternatively, in terms of plastic hysteretic energy—is evaluated for six regular moment-resisting steel frames designed according to the Mexico City Building Code, and located in the Lake Zone of that city. While the maximum interstory drift was used because of its relevance within the format of current seismic design codes, the plastic hysteretic energy was considered due to its importance for the performance of structures when subjected to severe cumulative plastic deformation demands. The demand hazard curves of the frames in terms of drift and energy are compared to provide a general idea of the reliability levels associated to the models, and to provide insights into which response parameter dominates their dynamic behavior and structural performance. In some cases, large differences are observed in the reliabilities computed by measure of the two different response parameters under consideration.
Seismic Performance of a Deficient Reinforced Concrete Test Frame with Infill Walls
Authors: Kurt Efe G. , Binici Barış , Kurç Özgür , Canbay Erdem , Akpınar  , Özcebe Güney
Published: August 2011

A two-story, three-bay RC frame with code incompliant seismic design and detailing is tested using continuous pseudodynamic test method for three scale levels of Düzce ground motion. The ground motion produced minimum, significant, and severe damage states on the test structure. Diagonal cracking of the infill wall, column damage in the form of cover spalling and rebar buckling, and complete disintegration of the infill wall were the important observed damage events for the three scale levels, respectively. Nonlinear time history analyses were able to estimate the story displacement response with reasonable accuracy. The importance of element removal for near collapse damage state is unfolded. Tracing the local engineering demand parameters such as strains and curvature was found to be extremely difficult.
Seismic Behavior of a Jumbo Container Crane Including Uplift
Authors: Jacobs Laura D. , Kosbab Benjamin D. , Leon Roberto T. , DesRoches Reginald
Published: August 2011

Despite their importance to successful port operations, container cranes have received little attention in the context of seismic behavior. This paper presents the results of scale testing and analysis of a typical jumbo container crane subjected to earthquake loading. A series of 1:20 scale shake table tests of the model structure is performed under increasing levels of acceleration to assess and characterize the critical responses. Complimentary detailed nonlinear finite element time history analyses are also carried out. It is found that the portal frame response dominates elastic behavior and is closely coupled with an uplift and derailment rocking-type response at higher excitation levels. Proposed analytical models can capture this coupled response well, while a simple pseudostatic analysis can accurately estimate the onset of uplift and derailment.
Comparison of Base Shears Estimated from Floor Accelerations and Column Shears
Authors: Goel Rakesh K.
Published: August 2011

This paper compares base shears computed from floor accelerations (inertial base shear) and column shears (structural base shear) for two mid-rise, multistory buildings due to a suite of 30 earthquake ground motions. The presented results demonstrate that the inertial base shear exceeds the structural base shear in the median by 10% to 20% and may exceed the structural base shear by as much as 70% for individual ground motions. Therefore, it is concluded that the inertial base shear computed from strong motion records should be used with caution to estimate the structural base shear.
Fragility Functions for Bridges in Liquefaction-Induced Lateral Spreads
Authors: Brandenberg Scott J. , Kashighandi Pirooz , Zhang Jian , Huo Yili , Zhao Minxing
Published: August 2011

Fragility functions are generated for bridges in liquefied and laterally spreading ground using equivalent static global nonlinear finite element analyses. Bridges are classified based on structural configurations and vintage. Probability density functions are assigned to both structural and geotechnical properties of bridges. Nonlinear equivalent static analyses are conducted with inputs sampled randomly using the Monte Carlo simulation method. Cumulative distribution functions are fitted to the simulated data, and define the probability of exceeding various engineering demand parameters (pier column curvature ductility, pile cap displacement, abutment displacement, etc.) conditioned on the maximum free-field lateral spreading ground surface displacement. Correlations among EDPs are presented to facilitate risk assessment based on a vector of EDPs. The derived fragility functions, combined with seismic hazard analysis, liquefaction potential, and lateral spreading estimation, are useful in the context of performance-based earthquake engineering and risk assessment of current bridge inventory in California.
Oleic Acid Modulates Metabolic Substrate Channeling during Glucose-Stimulated Insulin Secretion via NAD(P)H Oxidase
Authors: Santos Laila R. B. , Rebelato Eduardo , Graciano Maria Fernanda R. , Abdulkader Fernando , Curi Rui , Carpinelli Angelo R.
Published: August 2011

Positive acute effects of fatty acids (FA) on glucose-stimulated insulin secretion (GSIS) and reactive oxygen species (ROS) formation have been reported. However, those studies mainly focused on palmitic acid actions, and reports on oleic acid (OA) are scarce. In this study, the effect of physiological OA levels on β-cell function and the mechanisms involved were investigated. Analyses of insulin secretion, FA and glucose oxidation, and ROS formation showed that, at high glucose concentration, OA treatment increases GSIS in parallel with increased ROS content. At high glucose, OA oxidation was increased, accompanied by a suppression of glucose oxidation. Using approaches for protein knockdown of FA receptor G protein-coupled receptor 40 (GPR40) and of p47PHOX, a reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate [NAD(P)H] oxidase component, we observed that GPR40 does not mediate OA effects on ROS formation and GSIS. However, in p47PHOX knockdown islets, OA-induced ROS formation and the inhibitory effect of OA on glucose metabolism was abolished. Similar results were obtained by pharmacological inhibition of protein kinase C, a known activator of NAD(P)H oxidase. Thus, ROS derived from OA metabolism via NAD(P)H oxidase are an inhibitor of glucose oxidation. Put together, these results indicate that OA acts as a modulator of glucose oxidation via ROS derived from its own metabolism in β-cells.