bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
EVALUATION OF GROUND REACTION FORCES IN PATIENTS WITH VARIOUS SEVERITIES OF KNEE OSTEOARTHRITIS
Authors: SHAFIZADEGAN ZOHREH , KARIMI MOHAMMAD TAGHI , SHAFIZADEGAN FATEMEH , REZAEIAN ZAHRA SADAT
Published: February 2015

Knee osteoarthritis (KOA) changes the force applied on the lower extremities. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between various severity of KOA and the forces applied to the lower limb during walking. Sixty eight limbs were divided into three groups of mild, moderate and severe KOA and a healthy normal group according to the Kellgren–Lawrence scale. The subjects walked with a self-selected speed to collect five successful trials. The components of ground reaction forces i.e., medio-lateral (ML), first peak of antero-posterior (AP1), second peak of antero-posterior (AP2), first peak of vertical (VP1), second peak of vertical (VP2) and vertical valley (V.V) were collected. AP1 and AP2 had decreasing pattern with increasing disease severity. Although ML Peak and VV have shown rising trend from normal people to severe KOA, ML difference was not significant in various groups ([Formula: see text]). In addition, the VP1 did not differ significantly among the subjects. In contrast, the VP2 decreased significantly in OA subjects ([Formula: see text]). It seems that AP1 and VP2 components are more sensitive to KOA, which may be used to represent severity of knee OA.
Dynamics of a delayed epidemic model with varying immunity period and nonlinear transmission
Authors: Lahrouz Aadil
Published: February 2015

An epidemic model with a class of nonlinear incidence rates and distributed delay is analyzed. The nonlinear incidence is used to describe the saturated or the psychological effect of certain serious epidemics on the community when the number of infectives is getting larger. The distributed delay is derived to describe the dynamics of infectious diseases with varying immunity. Lyapunov functionals are used to show that the disease-free equilibrium state is globally asymptotically stable when the basic reproduction number is less than or equal to one. Moreover, it is shown that the disease is permanent if the basic reproduction number is greater than one. Furthermore, the sufficient conditions under which the endemic equilibrium is locally and globally asymptotically stable are obtained.
Reduced carotid baroreceptor distensibility-induced baroreflex resetting contributes to impairment of sodium regulation in rats fed a high-fat diet
Authors: Abe Chikara , Nagai Yuko , Yamaguchi Aoi , Aoki Hitomi , Shimizu Shuji , Akiyama Tsuyoshi , Kawada Toru , Sugimachi Masaru , Morita Hironobu
Published: February 2015

Decreased carotid arterial compliance has been reported in obese subjects and animals. Carotid baroreceptors are located at the bifurcation of the common carotid artery, and respond to distension of the arterial wall, suggesting that higher pressure is required to obtain the same distension in obese subjects and animals. A hyperosmotic NaCl solution induces circulatory volume expansion and arterial pressure (AP) increase, which reflexively augment renal excretion. Thus, we hypothesized that sodium regulation via the baroreflex might be impaired in response to chronic hyperosmotic NaCl infusion in rats fed a high-fat diet. To examine this hypothesis, we used rats fed a high-fat (Fat) or normal (NFD) diet, and measured mean AP, water and sodium balance, and renal function in response to chronic infusion of hyperosmotic NaCl solution via a venous catheter. Furthermore, we examined arterial baroreflex characteristics with static open-loop analysis and distensibility of the common carotid artery. Significant positive water and sodium balance was observed on the 1st day of 9% NaCl infusion; however, this disappeared by the 2nd day in Fat rats. Mean AP was significantly higher during 9% NaCl infusion in Fat rats compared with NFD rats. In the open-loop analysis of carotid sinus baroreflex, a rightward shift of the neural arc was observed in Fat rats compared with NFD rats. Furthermore, distensibility of the common carotid artery was significantly reduced in Fat rats. These results indicate that a reduced baroreceptor distensibility-induced rightward shift of the neural arc might contribute to impairment of sodium regulation in Fat rats.
Involvement of P2Y12 receptor in vascular smooth muscle inflammatory changes via MCP-1 upregulation and monocyte adhesion
Authors: Satonaka Hiroshi , Nagata Daisuke , Takahashi Masao , Kiyosue Arihiro , Myojo Masahiro , Fujita Daishi , Ishimitsu Toshihiko , Nagano Tetsuo , Nagai Ryozo , Hirata Yasunobu
Published: February 2015

Antiplatelet drugs, frequently used for cardiovascular events with thrombotic involvement, are also regarded as possible promising agents for cardiovascular primary prevention. The roles of P2Y12, an ADP receptor and the target of thienopyridine antiplatelet drugs, are not satisfactorily known in the vascular wall. We investigated the hypothesis that vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) P2Y12 is involved in vascular wall inflammatory changes by upregulating monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) and promoting monocyte adhesion. ADP at 10−5 M induced a 3.6 ± 0.3-fold upregulation of MCP-1 mRNA in cultured rat VSMCs, which was significantly inhibited by R-138727, the active metabolite of P2Y12 inhibitor prasugrel and siRNAs against P2Y12. ADP also induced MCP-1 protein upregulation, which was diminished by R-138727 and P2Y12 siRNAs. JNK (c-Jun NH2-terminal kinase) inhibition attenuated ADP-induced MCP-1 mRNA and protein upregulation. R-138727 and P2Y12 siRNAs inhibited ADP-induced JNK activation. The reactive oxygen species (ROS) inhibitors N-acetylcysteine (NAC), diphenyleneiodonium (DPI), and Tempol also diminished MCP-1 upregulation and JNK activation induced by ADP. ADP induced MCP-1 promoter activation, which was inhibited by R-138727 and P2Y12 siRNAs. Nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) consensus sites in the MCP-1 promoter region were involved in this activation. ADP-induced NF-κB pathway activation, examined by a plasmid containing multiple NF-κB sites, was diminished by P2Y12 inhibition. For cellular function analysis, stimulation of VSMC with ADP increased subsequent THP-1 monocyte adhesion. P2Y12 siRNAs and CCR2 antagonism diminished this ADP-induced monocyte adhesion. These data suggested that ADP, via the VSMC P2Y12 receptor, induces vascular inflammatory changes by upregulating MCP-1 and promoting monocyte adhesion.
Mechanism of the increased rib cage expansion produced by the diaphragm with abdominal support
Authors: De Troyer André , Wilson Theodore A.
Published: February 2015

When the abdomen in quadriplegic subjects is given a passive mechanical support, the expansion of the lower rib cage during inspiration is greater and the inward displacement of the upper rib cage is smaller. These changes have traditionally been attributed to an increase in the appositional force of the diaphragm, but the mechanisms have not been assessed. In this study, the inspiratory intercostal muscles in all interspaces were severed in anesthetized dogs, so that the diaphragm was the only muscle active during inspiration, and the displacements of the ribs 10 and 5 and the changes in pleural and abdominal pressure were measured during unimpeded breathing and during breathing with a plate applied on the ventral abdominal wall. In addition, external forces were applied to the 10th rib pair in the cranial and lateral directions, and the rib trajectories thus obtained were used as the basis for a vector analysis to estimate the relative contributions of the insertional and appositional forces to the rib 10 displacements during breathing. Application of the abdominal plate caused a marked increase in the inspiratory cranial and outward displacement of rib 10 and a decrease in the inspiratory caudal displacement of rib 5. Analysis of the results showed, however, that 1) the insertional and appositional forces contributed nearly equally to the increased inspiratory displacement of rib 10 and 2) the decrease in the expiratory displacement of rib 5 was the result of both the greater displacement of the lower ribs and the decrease in pleural pressure.
Functional changes in neutrophils and psychoneuroendocrine responses during 105 days of confinement
Authors: Strewe C. , Muckenthaler F. , Feuerecker M. , Yi B. , Rykova M. , Kaufmann I. , Nichiporuk I. , Vassilieva G. , Hörl M. , Matzel S. , Schelling G. , Thiel M. , Morukov B. , Choukèr A.
Published: February 2015

The innate immune system as one key element of immunity and a prerequisite for an adequate host defense is of emerging interest in space research to ensure crew health and thus mission success. In ground-based studies, spaceflight-associated specifics such as confinement caused altered immune functions paralleled by changes in stress hormone levels. In this study, six men were confined for 105 days to a space module of ∼500 m3mimicking conditions of a long-term space mission. Psychic stress was surveyed by different questionnaires. Blood, saliva, and urine samples were taken before, during, and after confinement to determine quantitative and qualitative immune responses by analyzing enumerative assays and quantifying microbicide and phagocytic functions. Additionally, expression and shedding of L-selectin (CD62L) on granulocytes and different plasma cytokine levels were measured. Cortisol and catecholamine levels were analyzed in saliva and urine. Psychic stress or an activation of the psychoneuroendocrine system could not be testified. White blood cell counts were not significantly altered, but innate immune functions showed increased cytotoxic and reduced microbicide capabilities. Furthermore, a significantly enhanced shedding of CD62L might be a hint at increased migratory capabilities. However, this was observed in the absence of any acute inflammatory state, and no rise in plasma cytokine levels was detected. In summary, confinement for 105 days caused changes in innate immune functions. Whether these changes result from an alert immune state in preparation for further immune challenges or from a normal adaptive process during confinement remains to be clarified in future research.
AltitudeOmics: impaired pulmonary gas exchange efficiency and blunted ventilatory acclimatization in humans with patent foramen ovale after 16 days at 5,260 m
Authors: Elliott Jonathan E. , Laurie Steven S. , Kern Julia P. , Beasley Kara M. , Goodman Randall D. , Kayser Bengt , Subudhi Andrew W. , Roach Robert C. , Lovering Andrew T.
Published: February 2015

A patent foramen ovale (PFO), present in ∼40% of the general population, is a potential source of right-to-left shunt that can impair pulmonary gas exchange efficiency [i.e., increase the alveolar-to-arterial Po2 difference (A-aDO2)]. Prior studies investigating human acclimatization to high-altitude with A-aDO2 as a key parameter have not investigated differences between subjects with (PFO+) or without a PFO (PFO−). We hypothesized that in PFO+ subjects A-aDO2 would not improve (i.e., decrease) after acclimatization to high altitude compared with PFO− subjects. Twenty-one (11 PFO+) healthy sea-level residents were studied at rest and during cycle ergometer exercise at the highest iso-workload achieved at sea level (SL), after acute transport to 5,260 m (ALT1), and again at 5,260 m after 16 days of high-altitude acclimatization (ALT16). In contrast to PFO− subjects, PFO+ subjects had 1) no improvement in A-aDO2 at rest and during exercise at ALT16 compared with ALT1, 2) no significant increase in resting alveolar ventilation, or alveolar Po2, at ALT16 compared with ALT1, and consequently had 3) an increased arterial Pco2 and decreased arterial Po2 and arterial O2 saturation at rest at ALT16. Furthermore, PFO+ subjects had an increased incidence of acute mountain sickness (AMS) at ALT1 concomitant with significantly lower peripheral O2 saturation (SpO2). These data suggest that PFO+ subjects have increased susceptibility to AMS when not taking prophylactic treatments, that right-to-left shunt through a PFO impairs pulmonary gas exchange efficiency even after acclimatization to high altitude, and that PFO+ subjects have blunted ventilatory acclimatization after 16 days at altitude compared with PFO− subjects.
Chemotherapy Rescues Hypoxic Tumor Cells and Induces Their Reoxygenation and Repopulation—An Effect That Is Inhibited by the Hypoxia-Activated Prodrug TH-302
Authors: Saggar Jasdeep K. , Tannock Ian F.
Published: February 2015

Purpose: Chemotherapy targets rapidly proliferating tumor cells, but spares slowly proliferating hypoxic cells. We hypothesized that nutrition of hypoxic cells would improve in intervals between chemotherapy, and that hypoxic cells destined to die without treatment would survive and proliferate.

Experimental Design: We therefore evaluated repopulation and reoxygenation following chemotherapy, and the effects of the hypoxia-activated prodrug TH-302 on these processes. Tumor-bearing mice were treated with doxorubicin or docetaxel ± TH-302. Pimonidazole (given concurrent with chemotherapy) and EF5 (given 24 to 120 hours later) identified hypoxic cells. Proliferation (Ki67) and oxygen status (EF5 uptake) of formerly hypoxic (pimo positive) cells were quantified by immunohistochemistry.

Results: Chronically hypoxic cells had limited proliferation in control tumors. After chemotherapy, we observed reoxygenation and increased proliferation of previously hypoxic cells; these processes were inhibited by TH-302.

Conclusions: Chemotherapy leads to paradoxical sparing of hypoxic cells destined to die in solid tumors in absence of treatment, and their reoxygenation and proliferation: TH-302 inhibits these processes. Clin Cancer Res; 21(9); 2107–14. ©2015 AACR.
The Tumor-Suppressor WWOX and HDAC3 Inhibit the Transcriptional Activity of the β-Catenin Coactivator BCL9-2 in Breast Cancer Cells
Authors: El-Hage Perla , Petitalot Ambre , Monsoro-Burq Anne-Hélène , Maczkowiak Frédérique , Driouch Keltouma , Formstecher Etienne , Camonis Jacques , Sabbah Michèle , Bièche Ivan , Lidereau Rosette , Lallemand François
Published: February 2015

The WW domain containing oxidoreductase (WWOX) has recently been shown to inhibit of the Wnt/β-catenin pathway by preventing the nuclear import of disheveled 2 (DVL2) in human breast cancer cells. Here, it is revealed that WWOX also interacts with the BCL9-2, a cofactor of the Wnt/β-catenin pathway, to enhance the activity of the β-catenin–TCF/LEF (T-cell factor/lymphoid enhancer factors family) transcription factor complexes. By using both a luciferase assay in MCF-7 cells and a Xenopus secondary axis induction assay, it was demonstrated that WWOX inhibits the BCL9-2 function in Wnt/β-catenin signaling. WWOX does not affect the BCL9-2–β-catenin association and colocalizes with BCL9-2 and β-catenin in the nucleus of the MCF-7 cells. Moreover, WWOX inhibits the β-catenin–TCF1 interaction. Further examination found that HDAC3 associates with BCL9-2, enhances the inhibitory effect of WWOX on BCL9-2 transcriptional activity, and promotes the WWOX–BCL9-2 interaction, independent of its deacetylase activity. However, WWOX does not influence the HDAC3–BCL9-2 interaction. Altogether, these results strongly indicate that nuclear WWOX interacts with BCL9-2 associated with β-catenin only when BCL9-2 is in complex with HDAC3 and inhibits its transcriptional activity, in part, by inhibiting the β-catenin–TCF1 interaction. The promotion of the WWOX–BCL9-2 interaction by HDAC3, independent of its deacetylase activity, represents a new mechanism by which this HDAC inhibits transcription.

Implications: The inhibition of the transcriptional activity of BCL9-2 by WWOX and HDAC3 constitutes a new molecular mechanism and provides new insight for a broad range of cancers. Mol Cancer Res; 13(5); 902–12. ©2015 AACR.
HuR Suppresses Fas Expression and Correlates with Patient Outcome in Liver Cancer
Authors: Zhu Haifeng , Berkova Zuzana , Mathur Rohit , Sehgal Lalit , Khashab Tamer , Tao Rong-Hua , Ao Xue , Feng Lei , Sabichi Anita L. , Blechacz Boris , Rashid Asif , Samaniego Felipe
Published: February 2015

Hepatocellular carcinomas (HCC) show resistance to chemotherapy and have blunt response to apoptotic stimuli. HCC cell lines express low levels of the Fas death receptor and are resistant to FasL stimulation, whereas immortalized hepatocytes are sensitive. The variable Fas transcript levels and consistently low Fas protein in HCC cells suggest posttranscriptional regulation of Fas expression. The 3′-untranslated region (UTR) of Fas mRNA was found to interact with the ribonucleoprotein Human Antigen R (HuR) to block mRNA translation. Silencing of HuR in HCC cells increased the levels of cell surface Fas and sensitized HCC cells to FasL. Two AU-rich domains within the 3′-UTR of Fas mRNA were identified as putative HuR-binding sites and were found to mediate the translational regulation in reporter assay. Hydrodynamic transfection of HuR plasmid into mice induced downregulation of Fas expression in livers and established functional resistance to the killing effects of Fas agonist. Human HCC tumor tissues showed significantly higher overall and cytoplasmic HuR staining compared with normal liver tissues, and the high HuR staining score correlated with worse survival of patients with early-stage HCC. Combined, the protumorigenic ribonucleoprotein HuR blocks the translation of Fas mRNA and effectively prevents Fas-mediated apoptosis in HCC, suggesting that targeting HuR would sensitize cells to apoptotic stimuli and reverse tumorigenic properties.

Implications: Demonstrating how death receptor signaling pathways are altered during progression of HCC will enable the development of better methods to restore this potent apoptosis mechanism. Mol Cancer Res; 13(5); 809–18. ©2015 AACR.
Cross-Presentation of the Oncofetal Tumor Antigen 5T4 from Irradiated Prostate Cancer Cells—A Key Role for Heat-Shock Protein 70 and Receptor CD91
Authors: Salimu Josephine , Spary Lisa K. , Al-Taei Saly , Clayton Aled , Mason Malcolm D. , Staffurth John , Tabi Zsuzsanna
Published: February 2015

Immune responses contribute to the success of radiotherapy of solid tumors; however, the mechanism of triggering CD8+ T-cell responses is poorly understood. Antigen cross-presentation from tumor cells by dendritic cells (DC) is a likely dominant mechanism to achieve CD8+ T-cell stimulation. We established a cross-presentation model in which DCs present a naturally expressed oncofetal tumor antigen (5T4) from irradiated DU145 prostate cancer cells to 5T4-specific T cells. The aim was to establish which immunogenic signals are important in radiation-induced cross-presentation. Radiation (12 Gy) caused G2–M cell-cycle arrest and cell death, increased cellular 5T4 levels, high-mobility protein group-B1 (HMGB1) release, and surface calreticulin and heat-shock protein-70 (Hsp70) expression in DU145 cells. DCs phagocytosed irradiated tumor cells efficiently, followed by upregulation of CD86 on phagocytic DCs. CD8+ 5T4-specific T cells, stimulated with these DCs, proliferated and produced IFNγ. Inhibition of HMGB1 or the TRIF/MyD88 pathway only had a partial effect on T-cell stimulation. Unlike previous investigators, we found no evidence that DCs carrying Asp299Gly Toll-like receptor-4 (TLR4) single-nucleotide polymorphism had impaired ability to cross-present tumor antigen. However, pretreatment of tumor cells with Hsp70 inhibitors resulted in a highly statistically significant and robust prevention of antigen cross-presentation and CD86 upregulation on DCs cocultured with irradiated tumor cells. Blocking the Hsp70 receptor CD91 also abolished cross-presentation. Together, the results from our study demonstrate that irradiation induces immunologically relevant changes in tumor cells, which can trigger CD8+ T-cell responses via a predominantly Hsp70-dependent antigen cross-presentation process. Cancer Immunol Res; 3(6); 678–88. ©2015 AACR.
Novel Role of Reactive Oxygen Species–Activated
trp
Melastatin Channel-2 in Mediating Angiogenesis and Postischemic Neovascularization
Authors: Mittal Manish , Urao Norifumi , Hecquet Claudie M. , Zhang Min , Sudhahar Varadarajan , Gao Xiao-pei , Komarova Yulia , Ushio-Fukai Masuko , Malik Asrar B.
Published: February 2015

Objective—

Transient receptor potential melastatin-2 (TRPM2) channel is a nonselective cation channel that mediates influx of Ca
2+
and Na
+
with relative permeability of
P
Ca:
P
Na ≈0.6 in response to cellular oxidative stress. As angiogenesis and ischemic neovascularization are both significantly dependent on oxidant signaling, here we investigated the possible role of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)–induced reactive oxygen species production in activating TRPM2-dependent Ca
2+
signaling and in the mechanism of angiogenesis and ischemic neovascularization.

Approach and Results—

We observed that VEGF stimulation rapidly induced the association of TRPM2 and cellular Src kinase with vascular endothelial-cadherin forming a signalplex at vascular endothelial-cadherin junctions in endothelial cells. Using endothelial cells isolated from
TRPM2

−/−

mice or after small interfering RNA depletion of TRPM2, we demonstrated that TRPM2-activated Ca
2+
signaling was required for cellular Src kinase–induced phosphorylation of vascular endothelial-cadherin at Y658 and Y731, the crucial sites involved in vascular endothelial-cadherin internalization in response to VEGF. VEGF-induced reactive oxygen species generation activated TRPM2-induced Ca
2+
entry, whereas the reactive oxygen species–insensitive TRPM2 mutant (C1008→A) showed impaired Ca
2+
entry. Endothelial cells depleted of TRPM2 also displayed significantly perturbed migratory phenotype and impaired activation of cellular Src in response to VEGF.
TRPM2
−/−
mice reconstituted with wild-type myeloid cells demonstrated aberrant angiogenesis and neovascularization in the hindlimb ischemia model as compared with wild-type mice.

Conclusions—

VEGF-induced angiogenesis and postischemic neovascularization in mice required reactive oxygen species generation in endothelial cells and resultant TRPM2 activation. Thus, our findings provide novel insight into the role of TRPM2 in mechanism of angiogenesis and ischemic neovascularization.
Central Nervous System Regulation of Intestinal Lipoprotein Metabolism by Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 via a Brain–Gut Axis
Authors: Farr Sarah , Baker Christopher , Naples Mark , Taher Jennifer , Iqbal Jahangir , Hussain Mahmood , Adeli Khosrow
Published: February 2015

Objective—

Intestinal overproduction of atherogenic chylomicron particles postprandially is an important component of diabetic dyslipidemia in insulin-resistant states. In addition to enhancing insulin secretion, peripheral glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor stimulation has the added benefit of reducing this chylomicron overproduction in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Given the presence of central GLP-1 receptors and GLP-1–producing neurons, we assessed whether central GLP-1 exerts an integral layer of neuronal control during the production of these potentially atherogenic particles.

Approach and Results—

Postprandial production of triglyceride-rich lipoproteins was assessed in Syrian hamsters administered a single intracerebroventricular injection of the GLP-1 receptor agonist exendin-4. Intracerebroventricular exendin-4 reduced triglyceride-rich lipoprotein-triglyceride and -apolipoprotein B48 accumulation relative to vehicle-treated controls. This was mirrored by intracerebroventricular MK-0626, an inhibitor of endogenous GLP-1 degradation, and prevented by central exendin9–39, a GLP-1 receptor antagonist. The effects of intracerebroventricular exendin-4 were also lost during peripheral adrenergic receptor and central melanocortin-4 receptor inhibition, achieved using intravenous propranolol and phentolamine and intracerebroventricular HS014, respectively. However, central exendin9–39 did not preclude the effects of peripheral exendin-4 treatment on chylomicron output.

Conclusions—

Central GLP-1 is a novel regulator of chylomicron production via melanocortin-4 receptors. Our findings point to the relative importance of central accessibility of GLP-1–based therapies and compel further studies examining the status of this brain–gut axis in the development of diabetic dyslipidemia and chylomicron overproduction.
Exploratory Longitudinal Cohort Study of Associations of Fatigue After Stroke
Authors: Duncan Fiona , Lewis Susan J. , Greig Carolyn A. , Dennis Martin S. , Sharpe Michael , MacLullich Alasdair M.J. , Mead Gillian E.
Published: February 2015

Background and Purpose—

The pathogenesis of poststroke fatigue is unclear. In this prospective study, we explored whether reduced physical activity might contribute to poststroke fatigue or be a consequence of it.

Methods—

Patients with a recent acute stroke were assessed at 1, 6, and 12 months with, Fatigue Assessment Scale (FAS), a fatigue case definition, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Score, sleepiness, quality of life, and accelerometry (ActivPAL). Bivariate analyses determined associations between fatigue and step count at each time point. Multiple linear regression tested whether 1-month step count independently predicted 6- and 12-month FAS.

Results—

A total of 136 participants (mean age, 72 years; 64% men) attended ≥1 assessment. ActivPAL data were available for 84 (64%), 69 (66%), and 58 (64%) participants at 1, 6, and 12 months, respectively. At 6 and 12 months, a positive fatigue case definition was associated with lower daily step counts (
P
=0.014 and 0.013, respectively). At 1, 6, and 12 months, higher FAS (more fatigue) was associated with lower step count (
P
<0.001, 0.01, and 0.007), higher depression (
P
<0.001), anxiety scores (
P
<0.001) and sleepiness (
P
<0.001), and poorer quality of life (
P
<0.001). Lower daily step count (
P
<0.002 and 0.006) and greater anxiety (
P
<0.001 for both) at 1 month independently predicted higher FAS at 6 and 12 months.

Conclusions—

Lower step counts at 1 month independently predicted greater FAS for ≤12 months. Physical activity might be a therapeutic target for poststroke fatigue.
Towards Solidarity and Recognition?
Authors: Wen Zhuoyi
Published: February 2015

According to the rhetoric of the post-war welfare state, citizens should have equal access to social benefits and protection based on human needs, rather than place of residence (Wincott, 2006). But under China’s socialist system and neoliberal reform, Chinese social citizenship has been eroded for various political and economic goals. Are there positive changes in Chinese social citizenship after a decade of social policy development? By interviewing 24 migrant college graduates working in Guangzhou and Shenzhen, the current study confirms institutional progress in social policy for people’s social protection. But these post-neoliberal social programmes are far from enough to help migrant graduates perform full social citizenship in urban regions. By studying social inclusion of educated but disadvantaged youth under neoliberal and post-neoliberal reforms, the study contributes to a growing body of literature analysing social citizenship and social policy in China.
Illusory Debates
Authors: Zencirci Gizem
Published: February 2015

Emergent social assistance programmes in developing countries are either considered to possibly signal the transition to a post-neoliberal era, or are taken to constitute a move towards neoliberal welfare governance. By examining the making of a social assistance-based welfare regime in Turkey, I argue that the expansion of social programmes are the product of the neoliberalism-plus conjuncture which takes market inequality as a given. Specifically, this article analyses the similarity of nominally opposed concepts of welfare in the Turkish debate between conservative Islamists and secular Kemalists. By examining the “sadaka culture” debate and the constitutive rights vs. belief binary, the following analysis illustrates that although these two political groups appear to disagree about welfare governance, in reality this on-going debate actually masks the consolidation of social assistance as a welfare norm. I argue that social assistance operates as a bio-political strategy that transforms state power, restructures welfare governance and generates new understandings of poverty, need and aid in the neoliberalism-plus conjuncture.
NGOs as Intermediaries for Pro-Poor Electrification in India
Authors: Baruah Bipasha
Published: February 2015

Neoliberalism is generally associated with certain paradigmatic regulatory experiments, such as privatisation, deregulation, trade liberalisation, financialisation, structural adjustment, welfare cutbacks and monetarist shock therapy. Prominent observers of the global economy swiftly proclaimed the “end of neoliberalism” after the global economic crisis of 2008. This paper shares the experiences of two Indian NGOs participating in a multiple-stakeholder pro-poor urban electrification programme that was designed to demonstrate a viable alternative to neoliberal models of basic service provision. By 2008, close to 100,000 homes had been electrified in the city of Ahmedabad and the programme is currently being replicated in smaller cities in Gujarat and in the neighbouring state of Rajasthan. The broader findings from this research suggest that the news of neoliberalism’s demise may be greatly exaggerated. The “alternative” practices and strategies that have emerged more recently, such as the ones documented in this article, may challenge certain aspects of neoliberal thinking even as they reconfigure and recalibrate others. Although this case study cannot in any way enable us to gauge if India is moving toward “post-neoliberalism”, it does highlight the importance of documenting and understanding sub-national scales and actors in experimenting with and testing alternatives to market-based solutions.
The Sin of the Gentiles: The Prohibition of Eating Blood in the Book of Jubilees
Authors: Hanneken Todd R.
Published: February 2015

Jubilees exhorts Israelites to separate from Gentiles in every way. Jubilees does not simply repeat familiar arguments that Gentiles will lead Israelites to sin if they adopt their ways. Rather, Jubilees argues that merely being in the presence of Gentiles is dangerous because they are liable to a violent death at any moment for their abhorrent daily practices. At the same time, Jubilees maintains a strict standard for God’s justice such that sinners must be warned of the crime and its punishment in advance. Jubilees maintains that the ancestors of all nations willingly entered into a covenant which demands eradication of entire nations for the sin of eating blood. In order to make this point Jubilees interprets Genesis 9 and other sources to indicate that all nations are bound to a covenant which demands eradication for the crime of eating meat that was not processed according to Levitical procedure.
Three new species of Exampithoe from Australia and New Zealand (Ampithoidae: Amphipoda: Crustacea)
Authors: HUGHES LAUREN E. , PEART RACHAEL A.
Published: February 2015

Three new species of Exampithoe are described from Australia and New Zealand. Material described here corroborates the peculiar mandibular palp variability, with either a two- or three- articulate palp reported for species within the genus Exampithoe compared to the absence of the mandibular palp in Melanesius. The Exampthoinae remain a Southern Hemisphere subfamily with nine described species.
Two new species of the acifer species group of Polypedilum subgenus Tripodura Townes from China (Diptera: Chironomidae)
Authors: ZHANG RUILEI , SONG CHAO , WANG LIQING , WANG XINHUA
Published: February 2015

Polypedilum (Tripodura) falcatum sp. n. and P. (T.) procerum sp. n. of the acifer species group of Polypedilum subgenus Tripodura Townes are described and illustrated as male imagines from China. The male adult of P. (T.) falcatum sp. n. is distinguished by the presence of two faint markings on wing; short and interrupted abdominal tergite bands; the sickle-like superior volsella bearing 0–2 outer setae and a tuft of short setae on its apex. The male adult of P. (T.) procerum sp. n. differs in having short abdominal tergite bands; a long, slender and apically curved superior volsella; a high fore leg ratio (2.30–2.33). A key to known male imagines of Polypedilum subgenus Tripodura from China is presented.
The type specimens, type localities and nomenclature of Sarcoramphus vultures (Aves: Cathartidae), with a note on their speciation
Authors: MLÍKOVSKÝ JIŘÍ
Published: February 2015

A nomenclatural review of Sarcoramphus vultures resulted in the following: The genus Sarcoramphus was described by Duméril in 1805 rather than 1806. Vultur papa Linnaeus, 1758, is the type of Sarcoramphus by subsequent monotypy (Froriep in Duméril 1806), not by Vigors's (1825) designation. The type of the genus Gypagus Vieillot, 1816, is, by monotypy, Vultur gryphus Linnaeus, 1758, not Vultur papa Linnaeus, 1758. Due to this, Gypagus is a junior objective synonym of Vultur Linnaeus, 1758. Gyparchus was created by Gloger (1841) as a new genus for Vultur papa Linnaeus, 1758, not as an emendation of Gypagus Vieillot, 1816. Vultur papa Linnaeus, 1758 was found to be possibly based on syntypes from two different taxa and a lectotype is here designated. The author of Vultur sacer is Zimmermann (in Bartram 1793), not Cassin (1853). Possible speciation events in the genus Sarcoramphus are also discussed.
Virtual and Real Topography for Flows across Mountain Ranges
Authors: Armi Laurence , Mayr Georg J.
Published: February 2015

A combination of real and virtual topography is shown to be crucial to describe the essentials of stratified flow over mountain ranges and leeside valleys. On 14 March 2006 [Intensive Observation Period 4 of the Terrain-Induced Rotor Experiment (T-REX)], a nearly neutral cloud-filled layer, capped by a strong density step, overflowed the Sierra Nevada and separated from the lee slope upon encountering a cooler valley air mass. The flow in this lowest layer was asymmetric across and hydraulically controlled at the crest with subcritical flow upstream and supercritical flow downstream. The density step at the top of this flowing layer formed a virtual topography, which descended 1.9 km and determined the horizontal scale and shape of the flow response aloft reaching into the stratosphere. A comparison shows that the 11 January 1972 Boulder, Colorado, windstorm case was similar: hydraulically controlled at the crest with the same strength and descent of the virtual topography. In the 18 February 1970 Boulder case, however, the layer beneath the stronger virtual topography was subcritical everywhere with a symmetric dip across the Continental Divide of only 0.5 km. In all three cases, the response and strength of the flow aloft depend on the virtual topography. The layer up to the next strong density step at or near the tropopause was hydraulically supercritical for the 18 February case, subcritical for the T-REX case, and critically controlled for the 11 January case, for which a weak density step and isolating layer aloft made possible the strong response aloft for which it is famous.
Centrifugal Instability and Mixing in the California Undercurrent
Authors: Dewar W. K. , McWilliams J. C. , Molemaker M. J.
Published: February 2015

A regional numerical study of the California Current System near Monterey Bay, California, is conducted using both hydrostatic and nonhydrostatic models. Frequent sighting of strong anticyclones (Cuddies) have occurred in the area, and previous studies have identified Monterey Bay as an apparent region of strong unbalanced flow generation. Here, by means of a downscaling exercise, a domain just downstream of Point Sur is analyzed and argued to be a preferred site of diapycnal mixing. The scenario suggested by the simulations involves the generation of negative relative vorticity in a bottom boundary layer of the California Undercurrent on the continental shelf break. At Point Sur, the current separates from the coast and moves into deep waters where it rapidly develops finite-amplitude instabilities. These manifest as isopycnal overturnings, but in contrast to the normal Kelvin–Helmholtz paradigm for mixing, this study argues that the instability is primarily centrifugal. The evidence for this comes from comparisons of the model with linear results for ageostrophic instabilities. Mixing increases background potential energy. The authors argue the regional potential energy generation near Point Sur in the upper few hundred meters is comparable to that found in open-ocean regions of strong diapycnal mixing, either by abyssal tides and lee waves near topography. This study computes diapycnal fluxes and estimates turbulent diffusivities to argue mixing by centrifugal instability is characterized by diffusivities O(10−4) m2 s−1, although the potential for contamination by explicit diffusivities exists.
ASAR and ASCAT in Polar Low Situations
Authors: Furevik Birgitte Rugaard , Schyberg Harald , Noer Gunnar , Tveter Frank , Röhrs Johannes
Published: February 2015

Forecasting and monitoring polar lows are, to a large degree, based on satellite observations from passive radiometers and from scatterometer winds in addition to synoptic observations and numerical models. Synthetic aperture radar (SAR) brings higher resolution compared to other remotely sensed sources of ocean wind, such as scatterometer data and passive microwave wind products. The added information in polar low situations from SAR and the increased-resolution scatterometer wind fields are investigated. Statistically, higher variability in the MetOp Advanced Scatterometer (ASCAT) wind is clearly found during polar low situations compared to all situations. Slightly more variability is also seen in the ASCAT 12.5-km wind product compared to the operational European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) model surface winds. In two analyzed polar low cases, Environmental Satellite (Envisat) Advanced SAR (ASAR) images reveal numerous interesting features, such as the sharp fronts and the location and strength of the strongest wind field in the polar low. It is likely that if SAR images are available to operational weather forecasting, that it can in some cases lead to earlier detection of polar lows. However, a reliable wind field from SAR is still needed.
Toward Improved Forecasts of Sea-Breeze Horizontal Convective Rolls at Super High Resolutions. Part I: Configuration and Verification of a Down-Scaling Simulation System (DS3)
Authors: Chen Guixing , Zhu Xinyue , Sha Weiming , Iwasaki Toshiki , Seko Hiromu , Saito Kazuo , Iwai Hironori , Ishii Shoken
Published: February 2015

Horizontal convective rolls (HCRs) that develop in sea breezes greatly influence local weather in coastal areas. In this study, the authors present a realistic simulation of sea-breeze HCRs over an urban-scale area at a resolution of a few meters. An advanced Down-Scaling Simulation System (DS3) is built to derive the analyzed data using a nonhydrostatic model and data assimilation scheme that drive a building-resolving computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model. The mesoscale-analyzed data well capture the inland penetration of the sea breeze in northeastern Japan. The CFD model reproduces the HCRs over Sendai Airport in terms of their coastal initiation, inland growth, streamwise orientation, specific locations, roll wavelength, secondary flows, and regional differences due to complex surfaces. The simulated HCRs agree fairly well with those observed by dual-Doppler lidar and heliborne sensors. Both the simulation and observation analyses suggest that roll updrafts typically originate in the narrow bands of low-speed streaks and warm air near the ground. The HCRs are primarily driven and sustained by a combination of wind shear and buoyancy forces within the slightly unstable sea-breeze layer. In contrast, the experiment without data assimilation exhibits a higher deficiency in the reproduction of roll characteristics. The findings highlight that CFD modeling, given reliable mesoscale weather and surface conditions, aids in high-precision forecasting of HCRs at unprecedented high resolutions, which may help determine the roll structure, dynamics, and impacts on local weather.
A Melanocytic Lesion Extending From the Right Ear to the Nasopharynx in a Pediatric Patient
Authors: Saito Chizu , Ishikawa Kotaro , Nakamura Ken-ichi , Fujita Akifumi , Shimizu Michio , Fukushima Noriyoshi , Nishino Hiroshi , Ichimura Keiichi
Published: February 2015

Background:

Blue nevus is a benign dermal melanocyte tumor that mainly arises from the skin. We report an extremely rare case of blue nevus in a pediatric patient with extensive progression from the middle ear and inner ear to the nasopharynx through the Eustachian tube.

Case Report:

A 2-year-old girl with blue tympanum was referred to our department. Computed tomography scans and magnetic resonance imaging were performed, followed by a tissue biopsy and histopathologic evaluations. Radiologic examinations revealed that the lesion had progressed beyond the middle ear into the inner ear and the nasopharynx through the Eustachian tube. Subsequent histopathologic examinations indicated dermal dendritic melanocytic proliferations, but no evidence of malignancy. Based on the clinical and histopathologic findings, we concluded that the lesion was consistent with blue nevus.

Discussion:

Blue nevus is a relatively common skin lesion. However, no prior reports have described the extension of blue nevus from the auditory organ to the nasopharynx in a pediatric patient. Despite the benign nature of the lesion, the patient experienced profound hearing loss in the affected ear, which necessitates continued monitoring as the lesion may expand with patient growth.
Healthy school communities in Canada
Authors: Bassett-Gunter Rebecca , Yessis Jennifer , Manske Steve , Gleddie Doug
Published: February 2015

Background and context:

Healthy school communities aim to optimise student health and educational achievement. Various models, terms and resources have been used to describe healthy school communities. Policy makers and practitioners have reported confusion around many of the key concepts involved because of the varying models and terms. Importantly, practitioners have reported that the lack of clarity impedes progress related to advancing healthy school work. To address these issues and work towards a common understanding of healthy school communities within the Canadian context, a collaborative process involving practitioners, policy makers and researchers culminated in the production of a concept paper.

Objective:

Here, we describe the process used to develop the concept paper and summarise what is known about healthy school communities and the effectiveness of the approach.

Method:

Guided by a steering committee and expert panel, we identified, reviewed and summarised key resources to identify common components and principles necessary for a healthy school communities approach.

Results:

Core components of healthy school communities that emerged include the presence of education, social and physical environments, policy, community partnerships and the use of evidence. Fundamental principles for creating healthy school communities include the adoption of a whole school approach, education and health service synergy, planning and assessment, leadership and sustainability. Here, we describe the iterative and collaborative process to identify these key components and principles.

Conclusion:

Beyond the Canadian context, this discussion paper describes a process for enhancing communication among organisations and stakeholders invested in healthy school communities internationally.
Pulling the plug
Authors: Gohdes Anita R
Published: February 2015

New media outlets have been deemed a vital instrument for protesters and opposition groups to coordinate activities in the recent civilian uprisings in the Middle East and North Africa. But what happens when regimes respond by shutting down the internet? I argue that governments have a strategic incentive to implement internet blackouts in conjunction with larger repressive operations against violent opposition forces. Short-term intermissions in communication channels are expected to decrease opposition groups’ capabilities to successfully coordinate and implement attacks against the state, allowing regime forces to strengthen their position. Network blackouts should consequently be accompanied by significant increases in military activity. Analyzing daily documented killings by the government in the Syrian civil war, I find that blackouts occur in conjunction with significantly higher levels of state repression, most notably in areas where government forces are actively fighting violent opposition groups. In addition, I estimate the number of undocumented conflict fatalities prior to and during network blackouts to test whether they are implemented to hide atrocities from outside observers, and find no support for this hypothesis. The results indicate that such network blackouts constitute a part of the military’s strategy to target and weaken opposition groups, where the underreporting of violence is not systematically linked to outages.
A ‘Bedford Falls’ kind of place: Neighbourhood branding and commercial revitalisation in processes of gentrification in Toronto, Ontario
Authors: Keatinge Brenna , Martin Deborah G
Published: February 2015

Drawing on in-depth stakeholder interviews and media accounts, we explore a case of civic activism over the opening of a strip club in a neighbourhood of Etobicoke, one of six municipalities amalgamated in 1998 to form the current City of Toronto, Ontario. In 2008, the growing residential gentrification of the area had not yet extended into the commercial district and the opening of the strip club challenged the gentrifiers’ nascent ‘revitalising and family-friendly’ neighbourhood brand – a brand that became integral to their civic and legal strategies to impede the opening of the club. This case highlights the ways in which gentrifiers participate in processes of commercial gentrification by enacting place marketing strategies that express social and spatial class-based disaffiliation and that define suitable uses of neighbourhood public spaces. The political contestation of neighbourhood boundaries takes shifting civic and legal forms, and the place branding expressed and promoted by these strategies encourages commercial gentrification by inviting particular patterns of class-based consumption into neighbourhood business districts. The case also underscores the contingent meaning of neighbourhood land uses for gentrifiers and the growing potential importance of commercial identities for gentrifiers’ relational constructions of ‘community’ and its boundaries. We contextualise this case within literature on commercial gentrification and the constitution of identity – individual, neighbourhood and class – through processes of ‘othering’, demonstrating that gentrification is a politically contested social and spatial practice with affective and material consequences.
Examining the Impact of Peer Group Selection on Self-Reported Delinquency
Authors: TenEyck Michael , Barnes J. C.
Published: February 2015

Research has yet to discount all sources of confounding in the relationship between an individual’s delinquent behavior and that of his or her peers. One approach is to control for an active gene–environment correlation ( rGE). Active rGE occurs when one selects into an environment based on genetic propensities. The current study utilizes twin data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health to examine the impact of a direct measure of peer delinquency on self-reported delinquency while controlling for active rGE. The final analytic sample ranged between 456 and 524 dizygotic and 286 and 350 monozygotic twins, depending on the measures being analyzed. Using an augmented version of the DeFries–Fulker model, results revealed the peer effect was no longer statistically significant once genetic confounding (active rGE) was controlled. These findings support selection arguments and run counter to learning theory explanations.