bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Neutrophil Adhesion Molecule Expression in Familial Mediterranean Fever: Discordance between the Intravascular Regulation of β2 Integrin and L-Selectin Expression in Acute Attack
Authors: Molad Yair , Fridenberg Amir , Bloch Konstantine , Langevitz Pnina , Mukamel Masza , Sulkes Jaqueline , Pras Mordechai , Livneh Avi
Published: January 2023

Background

To determine the surface expression of neutrophil β2 integrin (CD11b/CD18) and L-selectin (LS) adhesion molecules in patients with familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) and to investigate the in vitro regulation of their expression in response to chemoattractant stimuli.

Methods

Neutrophil surface expression of CD11b and LS molecules was analyzed by flow cytometry in anticoagulated whole blood drawn from FMF patients and normal controls, and the in vitro regulation of these molecules induced by the chemoattractant N-formyl-methionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine (FMLP) was assayed.

Results

Patients during acute FMF attacks showed a statistically significant increased neutrophil surface CD11b compared with normal controls (mean fluorescence intensity: 22.8 ± 13.7 vs 12.8 ± 10.41, respectively; p = .03). There was no difference in LS expression between the groups. Neutrophils of FMF patients regulate CD11b and LS expression induced by chemoattractant (FMLP) stimulation to a degree similar to that in controls. Conclusions: β2 Integrin is up-regulated during an acute attack of FMF in dissociation with LS expression, suggesting a unique nonchemoattractant-mediated neutrophil activation.
Nitric Oxide Induces Apoptosis in Spleen Lymphocytes from MRL/lpr Mice
Authors: Dates Jim C. , Gilkeson Gary S.
Published: January 2023

Background

MRL/MpJ -Tnfrsf6 lpr(MRL/ lpr) mice, a murine model of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), have defective expression of Fas, substantially reducing signaling for apoptosis via this mechanism. However, it is known that MRL//pr mice have increased spontaneous apoptosis of leukocytes. These conflicting observations have stimulated interest in apoptosis in this SLE model. MRL/ lpr mice overproduce nitric oxide (NO) as autoimmune disease progresses. In vitro administration of NO may induce or decrease apoptosis depending on the cell type. Therefore, we hypothesized that NO induces MRL/ lpr spleen lymphocyte apoptosis independent of Fas receptor engagement.

Methods

Percentages of apoptotic spleen lymphocytes from MRL/ lpr and BALB/cJ mice were determined ex vivo after in vivo treatment with NG-monomethyl-l-arginine (NMMA), a nitric oxide synthase (NOS) inhibitor. After culture in varying concentrations of a slow-acting NO donor, the following were determined in spleen lymphocytes: (1) levels of apoptosis, (2) the effect of phorbol myristate acid (PMA) on levels of NO-induced apoptosis, and (3) protein kinase C (PKC) activity.

Results

Spleen lymphocytes from MRL/ lpr mice with active disease had increased levels of ex vivo apoptosis when compared with BALB/cJ controls. This increase was reduced by pharmacologic inhibition of NOS in MRL/ lpr but not in BALB/cJ mice. Exogenous administration of NO in vitro reduced PKC activity and induced apoptosis in MRL/ lpr spleen lymphocytes, an effect that could be reduced via coadministration of PMA in vitro.

Conclusion

These results suggest that NO plays a role in spleen lymphocyte apoptosis in MRL/ lpr mice, possibly via inhibition of PKC, despite a Fas defect.
Consequences of Cold Ischemic Injury of Kidneys in Clinical Transplantation
Authors: Salahudeen Abdulla K.
Published: January 2023

Cold storage allows the effective utilization of organs retrieved for transplantation. However, prolonged cold ischemia contributes to organ damage and increases patients’ morbidity and mortality and health care cost. Using recent data from the United Network for Organ Sharing, this paper examines the outcomes of live donor and deceased donor kidney transplants in relation to cold ischemia time.
New Insights into the Cellular and Molecular Mechanisms of Cold Storage Injury
Authors: Rauen Ursula , de Groot Herbert
Published: January 2023

Solid organ grafts, but also other biologic materials requiring storage for a few hours to a few days, are usually stored under hypothermic conditions. To decrease graft injury during cold storage, organ preservation solutions were developed many years ago. However, since then, modern biochemical and cell biologic methods have allowed further insights into the molecular and cellular mechanisms of cold storage injury, including further insights into alterations of the cellular ion homeostasis, the occurrence of a mitochondrial permeability transition, and the occurrence of free–radical-mediated hypothermic injury and cold-induced apoptosis. These new aspects of cold storage injury, which are not covered by preservation solutions in current clinical use and offer the potential for improvement of organ and tissue preservation, are presented here.
Cold Ischemic Organ Preservation: Lessons from Natural Systems
Authors: Storey Kenneth B.
Published: January 2023

Mammalian hibernators offer natural models for investigating solutions to the metabolic injuries that accrue during cold ischemic storage of human organs removed for transplant. Knowledge of the biochemical mechanisms that regulate and stabilize metabolism to ensure long-term viability in the hypometabolic, hypothermic state of hibernation could lead to applied treatments that could increase the time that excised organs can be maintained in cold storage and/or improve recovery of function after implantation. New research has documented the widespread role of reversible protein phosphorylation control of metabolism in achieving the coordinated suppression of metabolic rate that greatly extends viability during torpor. Analysis of hibernation-induced gene expression is proving to be of crucial importance for identifying the genes and proteins that are up-regulated to address organ-specific concerns during torpor. In particular, the power of complementary deoxyribonucleic acid (cDNA) array screening is identifying families of proteins that are up-regulated during hibernation (eg, serpins, heat shock proteins, antioxidants, membrane transporters) and highlighting previously unrecognized areas of cellular metabolism as contributing to the hibernation phenotype. These offer new targets for innovative applied treatments that could enhance cyto-protection and cold ischemia survival of organ explants.
Preconditioning Strategies to Limit Graft Immunogenicity and Cold Ischemic Organ Injury
Authors: van der Woude Fokko J. , Schnuelle Peter , Yard Benito A.
Published: January 2023

During the transplant process, the graft is exposed to numerous events, which may enhance its immunogenicity. In particular, factors related to brain death, such as hemodynamic instability and systemic release of cytokines, cold preservation on harvesting, and reperfusion injury, are known to accumulate in harm, conveying a proinflammatory state to the graft before transplant. Alloimmune reactivity is initiated when the host immune system detects non–self-antigens in the context of “danger signals.” Eliminating these danger signals by modifying the graft before transplant has the potential to attenuate the alloimmune response. The molecules, which mediate danger signals, have not yet been fully identified. Free oxygen radicals and interferon-γ are important candidates. One of the most important protective mechanisms against oxidative stress is the heme oxygenase 1 system. Up-regulation of heme oxygenase 1 in grafts has been shown to prevent ischemia-reperfusion damage and improve long-term graft survival in various transplant models. The benefit of blocking the action of interferon-γ in kidney transplants is less clear because the compound plays such a complex and pivotal role in the immune response, and experimental data with interferon-γ receptor knockout mice are conflicting. It has recently become clear that catecholamines are important graft-modifying agents. Dopamine is capable of stimulating the induction of protective enzymes like heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) rendering the organ more resistant to the insult of ischemia/reperfusion and inflammation. Retrospective clinical data suggest that treatment of brain-dead organ donors with catecholamines is associated with less rejection and a better long-term graft survival of kidneys transplanted from these donors. Catecholamines can also modulate cytokine production and prevent cold-induced damage. Other substances, such as proteoglycans and phosphatidylethanolamine-bound hyaluronic acid, may interfere with the actions of interferon-γ. Further studies of these compounds in experimental animal models and in prospective randomized clinical trials will help establish their efficacy in donor pretreatment. It is important to underscore that donor pretreatment will have great advantages for the recipient because an improved long-term graft survival could thus be achieved cost-efficiently and without great effort or side effects.
Effect of Adventitial Dissection in Brachiobasilic Arteriovenous Fistulae Opened in Children as Vascular Access for Hemodialysis on Patency and Maturation of Fistulae
Authors: Karabay Ozalp , Bak Mustafa , Silistreli Erdem , Calkavur Sebnem , Yurekli Ismail , Agin Hasan , Acikel Unal
Published: January 2023

Background

Recently, therapy of pediatric patients with chronic renal failure has been carried out using hemodialysis, peritoneal dialysis, or renal transplant. In this study, we prospectively investigated the role of adventitial dissection (performed on brachiobasilic arteriovenous fistulae in the antecubital area) in the patency rate, maturation, and early initiation of dialysis among pediatric cases undergoing chronic hemodialysis.

Methods

Thirty children (7 male and 23 females) were included in this study. They were operated on at the Department of Cardiovascular Surgery of Alsancak State Hospital and Dokuz Eylul University between March 2001 and June 2003. Their mean age was 12.3 ± 2.9 years (range 7–17 years), and their mean weight was 25.5 ± 7.9 kg (range 16–44 kg). Children who underwent only brachiobasilic arteriovenous fistula operation were included. Group 1 ( n = 15) consisted of those who underwent adventitial dissection, and group 2 ( n = 15) consisted of those not receiving the adventitial dissection procedure.

Results

The procedure was conducted by the same surgeon, and follow-up examinations were done at the Department of Pediatric Nephrology by investigators masked to treatment groups.

Conclusion

There were no significant differences in age, sex, existence of preoperative hypertension, diameter of vein measured preoperatively, and first day of dialysis between the groups. In 29 cases, a palpable thrill was noted at the operation site. Hemodialysis had been initiated after the fourth week, when the fistulae had matured. The mean duration of follow-up was 12.53 ± 8.98 months in group 1 and 11.85 ± 7.55 months in group 2 ( p = .880). In group 1, one case developed fistula infection in the second month and one case developed lymphatic drainage. In group 2, one case developed early thrombosis, one case developed hematoma, and one case developed transient ischemia owing to arterial spasm in the ipsilateral limb. One case in each group developed minimal edema in the forearm, which was treated conservatively. The primary patency rate was 93.3% in both groups, whereas the secondary patency rate was 100% in group 1. Adventitial dissection performed on the vein during arteriovenous fistula formation does not result in any additional benefit with respect to fistula maturation, early initiation of dialysis, and patency. Among pediatric patients with chronic renal failure, in cases of inappropriate forearm veins, brachial arteriovenous fistulae performed with a meticulous surgical technique should be the procedure of choice because it is associated with minimal complications and a high patency rate.
Intercellular Adhesion Molecule 1 (ICAM-1) Gene Variant is Associated with Coronary Artery Calcification Independent of Soluble ICAM-1 Levels
Authors: Reilly Muredach P. , Wolfe Megan L. , Dykhouse Jennifer , Reddy Karthik , Localio A. Russell , Rader Daniel J.
Published: January 2023

Background

Although circulating levels of soluble intercellular adhesion molecule 1 (slCAM-1) predict cardiovascular events, no studies have examined intercellular adhesion molecule 1 (ICAM-1) gene variants, plasma slCAM-1 levels, and atherosclerosis in the same sample.

Methods

We examined the association of the ICAM-1 K469E gene variant and plasma slCAM-1 with coronary artery calcification (CAC) in 632 asymptomatic subjects, recruited on the basis of a family history of premature cardiovascular disease.

Results

In age-adjusted ordinal regression, slCAM-1 levels were associated with CAC (odds ratio [OR] [95% confidence interval (CI)] 1.30 [1.04–1.6] per 100 ng/dL slCAM-1; p = .02), but this association was lost after adjusting for traditional risk factors (OR [95% CI] 0.9 [0.69–1.16]). In men, but not women (interaction p = .018), the ICAM-1 K469E GG genotype predicted lower CAC after adjusting for traditional risk factors (OR [95% CI] 0.33 [0.17–0.61]; p = .001) and further controlling for plasma slCAM-1 (OR [95% CI] 0.27 [0.14–0.52]; p < .001). Conclusions: In a study sample specifically selected for the characteristic of a family history of premature coronary heart disease, ICAM K469E GG was associated with lower CAC scores in men but not women even after controlling for plasma levels of slCAM-1. These studies suggest that ICAM-1 variants may modulate atherosclerosis in humans and provide support for the concept that inflammatory gene polymorphisms may influence atherosclerosis independent of plasma levels of their gene products.
Symposium IV: Calcific Aortic Valve Disease: A Disease Process Comes of Age?
Authors: O'Brien Kevin D.
Published: January 2023

Abstract: Calcific aortic stenosis, which includes aortic sclerosis and aortic stenosis, affects more than 25% of adults over age 65 years and is the second most common indication for cardiac surgery in the United States. Over the past 10 to 15 years, calcific aortic valve disease has come to be recognized as an active process and, therefore, potentially amenable to pharmacologic intervention. This symposium will review (1) epidemiologic and genetic studies demonstrating associations of specific risk factors with increased prevalence or rate of progression of aortic valve disease; (2) histopathologic studies, in humans and animal models, of chronic inflammation, lipoprotein deposition, renin-angiotensin system components in valve disease, including cell culture studies; (3) molecular mechanisms of valve calcification; and (4) the application of specific imaging techniques to monitor the effects of pharmacologic therapies on valve disease progression in humans. Together, these talks will provide a current, comprehensive overview of molecular, cellular, and clinical studies of this important cardiovascular condition.
Evaluation of thiol–disulfide homeostasis and oxidative stress parameters in newborns receiving phototherapy
Authors: Demirtas Mehmet Semih , Erdal Huseyin
Published: January 2023

The aim of our study was to evaluate oxidative stress and thiol–disulfide homeostasis in term newborns receiving phototherapy. The study was planned as a single-blind, intervention study in a single center with level 3 neonatal intensive care unit to investigate the effect of phototherapy on the oxidative system in term newborns with hyperbilirubinemia. Neonates with hyperbilirubinemia were treated with total body exposure phototherapy technique for 18 h using a Novos® device. Blood samples of 28 term newborns were taken before and after phototherapy. Total and native thiol, total antioxidant status (TAS) and total oxidant status (TOS), and oxidative stress index (OSI) levels were measured. The 28 newborn patients included 15 (54%) males and 13 (46%) females with a mean birthweight of 3080.1 ± 366.5 g. Native and total thiol levels were found to be decreased in patients receiving phototherapy (p = 0.021, p = 0.010). Besides, significantly lower TAS and TOS levels were found after phototherapy (p < 0.001, p < 0.001). We found that decreased thiol levels were related to increased oxidative stress. We also determined significantly the lower bilirubin levels after phototherapy (p < 0.001). In conclusion, we found that phototherapy treatment induced decreased oxidative stress associated with hyperbilirubinemia in neonates. Thiol–disulfide homeostasis can be used as a marker of oxidative stress due to hyperbilirubinemia in the early period.
How Customer Satisfaction Drivers in Online Reviews of Food Trucks and Quick Service Restaurants Differ: Proposing the Concept of Anticipation
Authors: Gruss Richard , Quesenberry Jessie , Kim Eojina , Abrahams Alan , Ractham Peter
Published: January 2023

Although food trucks have attracted significant attention among the dining public, little is known in the academic literature about what drives consumer satisfaction with them. Employing a grounded theory methodology, we analyzed a large set of Yelp reviews to determine whether the antecedents of satisfaction with food trucks differ from those associated with quick-service restaurants. We found that for most attributes, positive experiences at food trucks have smaller upward effects on satisfaction than they do for quick service restaurants, whereas negative experiences have larger downward effects. We further found that comments about anticipation appear far more frequently in food truck reviews, suggesting that the downward effect of negative experiences may be attributable to expectations. This has implications for theory in that it suggests some modifications to conventional instruments for measuring satisfaction. It also has implications for management practice, in that it suggests best practices with regard to managing expectations of food trucks.
Evaluating Different Magnitudes of Reinforcement Within the Caught Being Good Game
Authors: Crook Kayla C. , Ringdahl Joel E. , Cooper Rosie N. , Quinland Kadijah , Mangum Dan R. , Zabala Karla
Published: January 2023

The Caught Being Good Game (CBGG) is an evidence-based practice used in classrooms to reduce disruptive classroom behavior. This approach to classwide intervention has been implemented and its effectiveness demonstrated across grade levels and types of disruptive behavior. Teachers report that the CBGG is an easy classroom management strategy to implement. Although several studies have been published demonstrating its utility, less research has examined how variations in the contingencies employed impact outcomes. In the current study, the CBGG was implemented across three classrooms in an effort to replicate previous findings. As well, the magnitude of reward/reinforcement was manipulated to determine whether this parameter affected intervention efficacy. Results of the study demonstrated appropriate classroom behavior increased across three elementary classrooms. The impact of magnitude of reward/reinforcement was idiosyncratic across the three classrooms, with no uniform impact of magnitude on intervention outcomes. Reasons why magnitude of reinforcement may not have impacted the efficacy of the CBGG are discussed.
Language learning activities in the Spanish L2 classroom related to a task-based framework: What types are the most commonly occurring according to Swedish learners?
Authors: Aronsson Berit
Published: January 2023

The present study investigates language learners’ perceptions of what types of language learning activities they carry out in the Spanish second language (L2) classroom and what activities are the most common ones. A further aim is to investigate how the activities align with a model based on task-based language teaching. The group studied are Swedish learners of Spanish as L2 in a Swedish setting, where out of class exposure to first language (L1) Spanish is generally limited. The activities carried out in class are therefore expected to have a high impact on learners’ L2 acquisition in Spanish. The participants were tested after finishing secondary school. The reported learning activities, which in the long run should lead to goal attainment according to the national curriculum, were ranked and classified. The activity types were then graded along the scale explicit/analytic – implicit/experiential, according to a model based on task-based language teaching, an approach that is closely related to the action-oriented view of language, central to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages and the Swedish syllabus. Ninety-nine learners were included in the study, which is based on quantitative data consisting in self-report questionnaires in which participants estimate what activities they have typically been involved in. Results show a dominance of activity types based on a structural view of language with focus-on-form rather than on meaningful communication, and a dominance of writing-based activities. The study also has direct implications for the classroom, where it points to the importance of including more communicative oral activities without the support from writing in the teaching.
Unprecedented intact radical anions, closed shell anions, cluster ions, and traditional cations and radical cations by LIFDI–MS
Authors: Linden Mathias H. , Linden H. Bernhard
Published: January 2023

Liquid injection field desorption ionization (LIFDI) proves the extraordinary softness of the ionization process combined with a convenient sample supply under the exclusion of moisture and air. LIFDI–mass spectrometry (MS) is used for organometallic and other seriously air-sensitive compounds forming intact ions without substantial fragmentation. Unprecedented molecular radical anions M–• are presented along with well-known intact M+• radical cations. Furthermore closed shell cations [C]+ and adduct ions like [M + H]+ or [M + Alkali]+ are gently transferred from the solid emitter surface into the gas phase. Anions [A]– or [M − H]– are accessible by LIFDI–MS at medium field strengths. Ion pairs [C]+[A]– are separately detected by positive and negative mode LIFDI–MS, respectively. Here we give an overview of the different ion types accessible by LIFDI–MS. For the first time the field ionization/desorption of solar cell electron acceptor compounds is shown to deliver M–• and M2–• radical ions.
Food consumption, social class and taste in contemporary Portugal
Authors: Ramos Vasco
Published: January 2023

In this article, I investigate the logic underlying household food consumption in Portugal and how it relates to class positioning, like other expressions of culture. Therefore, the paper examines the Bourdieusian hypothesis of homology between the field of food and the configuration of social positions in Portuguese society against the hypotheses that emphasise homogenisation and individualisation of consumption patterns. I start by remapping the Portuguese social space, using an approach inspired by the analysis pioneered by Bourdieu on Distinction and recently taken up by several streams of research. Drawing on the national Household Budget Survey, I then develop a Correspondence Analysis of expenditure on a wide range of foodstuffs. The analysis is supplemented by data from the Second Large Survey on Sustainability in Portugal, seeking to examine patterns in ethical dispositions concerning food and drink in contemporary Portugal and their homology with class. Concluding on a degree of similarity between the space of food consumption and the space of social positions engendered by differences in the overall volume and composition of capital, I close with reflections on the methodological challenges of this approach and on the broader significance of these results for our understanding of consumption in Portugal.
Sexual Desire of Women With Fast and Slow Life History Throughout the Ovulatory Cycle
Authors: Lu Hui Jing
Published: January 2023

Findings on female sexual motivation across the ovulatory cycle are mixed. Some studies have reported increased female sexual desire on fertile days or midway through the ovulatory cycle, whereas others have reported increased sexual desire on nonfertile days. We postulated and tested the hypothesis that the pattern of the cyclical change of female sexual desire is associated with women's life history. Female participants completed life-history measures and rated their levels of sexual desire on the survey day and reported the first day of their current and subsequent cycle, respectively (Study 1), or recorded their sexual desire throughout an entire cycle by submitting daily reports (Study 2). Results indicate that women with a fast life history experienced peak sexual desire midcycle, whereas women with a slow life history experienced two peaks of sexual desire midcycle and around their menses. These findings suggest that, consistent with the underlying life history, cyclically differential peaking of sexual desire may serve different reproductive functions.
Absence of education in civil defence education: Nationalising education and its actors and knowledge
Authors: Wirthová Jitka , Barták Tomáš
Published: January 2023

This paper focuses on the relationship between agency and knowledge within the context of rising nationalism and populism. The case is the Czech debate over the reintroduction of civil defence education (CDE). It was abandoned in 1989 but recently, many new and contradictory calls for its return have appeared. We aim to gain an understanding of what the nationalising of education does with actorship in educational governance and how agency is achieved in pushing or criticising nationalist claims in education. The dataset consists of media entries, strategic documents, and interviews. We argue that the populist repertoire intervened significantly in defining what is the problem that some groups wanted to solve by a renewal of CDE. This situation stabilised the position of security-military expertise as reasonable knowledge, which concealed the educational nature of the problem and thus denied educational actors a role in agency. The role of the state structures responsible for education was problematised and set the difference of the Czech case in the European context regarding educational governance. We conclude that contemporary nationalists’ claims concerning education may be seen as a sign of the changing role of expert knowledge that camouflaged defence education as an educational problem.
Distributions of fatigue damage from data-driven strain prediction using Gaussian process regression
Authors: Gibson Samuel J. , Rogers Timothy J. , Cross Elizabeth J.
Published: January 2023

Fatigue is a leading cause of structural failure; however, monitoring and prediction of damage accumulation remains an open problem, particularly in complex environments where maintaining sensing equipment is challenging. As a result, there is a growing interest in virtual loads monitoring, or inferential sensing, particularly for predicting strain in areas of interest using machine learning methods. This paper pursues a probabilistic approach, relying on a Gaussian process (GP) regression, to produce both strain predictions and a predictive distribution of the accumulated fatigue damage in a given time period. Here, the fatigue distribution is achieved via propagation of successive draws from the posterior GP through a rainflow count. The establishment of such a distribution crucially accounts for uncertainty in the predictive model and will form a valuable element in any probabilistic risk assessment. For demonstration of the method, distributions for predicted fatigue damage in an aircraft wing are produced across 84 flights. The distributions provide a robust measure of predicted damage accumulation and model uncertainty.
Responses of retinal and brain microvasculature to streptozotocin induced diabetes revealed by global expression profiling
Authors: Li Youhai , Faiz Alen , Moshage Han , Schilling Lothar , Kamps Jan AAM
Published: January 2023

This study aims to determine the effects of diabetes in the retinal and brain microvasculature through gene expression profiling. Twelve male Wistar rats were randomly divided into two groups: streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats and time-matched nondiabetic rats. The retinal microvessels (RMVs) and brain microvessels (BMVs) were mechanically isolated from individual rats. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in diabetic and nondiabetic microvessels were identified by cDNA microarrays analysis. In RMVs, we identified 43 DEGs, of which 20 were upregulated while 23 were downregulated by diabetes. In BMVs, 35 genes DEGs were identified, of which 22 were upregulated and 13 were downregulated by diabetes. Altered expression of the Nars, Gars, Mars, Iars, Yars, Bcl2, Nqo1, NR4A3, Gpd1, Stc1, Tsc22d3, Tnfrsf21 mRNA as observed in the microarray analyses, was confirmed by quantitative RT-PCR. The aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases (aaRSs) pathway in RMVs was significantly overrepresented as compared to BMVs. Our study demonstrates for the first time that in the brain microvasculature multiple compensatory mechanisms exists, serving to protect brain tissue from diabetic insults, whereas these mechanisms are not activated in the retinal microvasculature. This provides new insights as to why brain microvasculature is less susceptible to diabetes.
Tools My Mother Gave Me: Four Autoethnographic Poems
Authors: Thomas Rhianna K.
Published: January 2023

Poetic inquiry is one approach available to researchers that allows for theory-informed and emotionally-engaged reflexivity. In this article, I share four poems about my mother’s positionality as a white low-income cis-hetero woman raising my brother and myself in the 1980s. Informed by critical sociocultural theory, I use poetry to describe four cultural tools she passed down to me: the Betty Crocker Cake Mix, accurate paperwork, makeup, and parenting magazines. These four research poems were composed through multiple rounds of revision in the context of a graduate-level poetry class resulting in improved aesthetics and qualitative analysis.
A Novel Online Nomogram Established with Five Features before Surgical Resection for Predicating Prognosis of Neuroblastoma Children: A Population-Based Study
Authors: Zhou Yu , Gao Jing
Published: January 2023

Background: Neuroblastoma (NB) is the most common childhood cancer, but doctors are unable to predict its overall survival (OS) rate before surgery. We aimed to predict the OS of NB children with some clinical features obtained from biopsy before surgery. Methods: Clinical features of NB children were retrospectively collected from the Therapeutically Applicable Research to Generate Effective Treatments database. The C-index, area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC), calibration curves, and decision curves analysis were used to estimate nomogram models. Results: A total of 488 NB children were evaluated, and the Boruta algorithm was used to detect risk factors. The results showed that artificial neural networks with selected features were able to predict more than 90% of NB children. Five risk factors were used in the construction of the nomogram, including age at diagnosis, MYCN status, ploidy value, histology, and mitosis-karyorrhexis index (MKI). The C-index of the nomogram in training cohort and validation cohort was 0.716 and 0.731. AUC values for 1-, 3-, and 5-years OS predictions were 0.706, 0.755, and 0.762, respectively, and showed good calibrations. Decision curve analysis indicated a better predictability with the nomogram model based on Cox regression compared with one that included all variables and histology only. Also, the Kaplan–Meier curves showed a significantly higher survival probability in the low-risk group (total score <118.34) versus the high-risk group (total score ≥ 118.34) ( p < 0.05) using the nomogram model. Conclusions: A web application based on the nomogram model in the present study can be accessed at https://mdzhou.shinyapps.io/DynNomapp/ , which could help doctors make accurate clinical decisions about NB children.
The ‘Rich Pictures’ Method: Its Use and Value, and the Implications for HRD Research and Practice
Authors: Gisby Alison , Ross Catharine , Francis-Smythe Jan , Anderson Kazia
Published: January 2023

Embracing new and innovative qualitative methods has helped researchers in a number of fields to access aspects of the lived experience that traditional methods cannot easily reach. This paper explores the use and value of one such method – ‘rich pictures’: a technique whose origins lie in ‘soft systems’ engineering but which has been successfully applied in a broader range of contexts in recent years including health, medicine and education. Despite its use in these disciplines, however, recent studies suggest that HRD research continues to rely on established methods and that uptake of visual methods – and ‘rich pictures’ in particular – is virtually non-existent. The aim of this paper therefore is to shed light on this underused method and encourage HRD researchers to recognize its potential for studying human development.
A 12-Week Supervised Exercise Therapy Program for Patients with Diabetic Foot Ulcers: Program Development and Preliminary Feasibility
Authors: Aagaard Thomas Vedste , Lindberg Kajsa , Brorson Stig , Madsen Ulla Riis , Skou Søren T.
Published: January 2023

Exercise therapy helps improve glycaemic control and insulin sensitivity and may be relevant in treating patients with diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs). This study describes the development of a 12-week exercise therapy program for patients with DFUs and the preliminary feasibility of the program focusing on the program's inclusion, adherence, and safety. The development process is built on knowledge from a published systematic review on exercise for people with DFUs and a grounded theory study on the main concerns of people with DFUs regarding physical activity. The development involved doctors, wound care nurses, podiatrists, and feedback from patients and physical therapists using semi-structured interviews. The program was designed as a combination of aerobic and resistance training exercises. The aerobic exercise phase on the stationary bike of 30-minute duration was aimed at a moderate intensity. Resistance exercises were conducted with a 15-repetition maximum approach (four to five sets per trial) throughout the 12-week period. Three patients were included and received the exercise intervention. Except for recruitment and retention rates, acceptance levels were met for all other research progression criteria. Patients found the intervention relevant, wanted further guidance on continuing exercising, and would have liked the intervention closer to their home for example, a municipality setting. Although the exercise therapy program for patients with DFUs was developed in a thorough process with the inclusion of available evidence and the involvement of patients and other stakeholders conclusions on feasibility are limited due to the low recruitment rate. A reconsideration of the setting is needed in future exercise intervention studies.
Navigating an Overburdened Courtroom: How Inconsistent Rules, Shadow Procedures, and Social Capital Disadvantage Tenants in Eviction Court
Authors: Fleming-Klink Isaiah , McCabe Brian J. , Rosen Eva
Published: January 2023

Landlords and tenants in eviction court navigate a complex legal and administrative process. Eviction courts are overburdened and under pressure to process enormous numbers of cases each day. From inside one such courtroom, we draw on in-depth ethnographic observations and administrative court records from before the pandemic to examine how everyday practices shape courtroom experiences for tenants and landlords. From the moment they enter the courtroom, tenants encounter unwritten rules and informal processes that prove difficult to navigate. Confusing and inconsistently applied rules leave unrepresented tenants at a disadvantage relative to landlords, who are much more likely to have legal counsel. Courtroom actors rely on shadow procedures such as settlement agreements to save time and improve courtroom efficiency, which reinforce power asymmetries between landlords and tenants. While landlords and their attorneys rely on their familiarity with courtroom actors to garner systematic advantages, tenants lack these social capital resources. Our theory of systematic disadvantage shows how these rules, practices, and procedures come together in an overburdened courtroom to amplify the disadvantages faced by tenants at risk of an eviction.
Background Checks: Disentangling Class, Race, and Gender in CRPG Character Creators
Authors: Iantorno Michael , Consalvo Mia
Published: January 2023

Character backgrounds are one of many elements players use to customize their protagonists in fantasy computer role-playing games. By documenting the narrative trappings, mechanical benefits, and hierarchical availability of character backgrounds in Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura (2001) and Dragon Age: Origins (2009), this paper considers how real-world socioeconomic class markers and racial stereotypes have been repeatedly associated with fictitious races such as orcs, dwarves, and elves. Class is an understudied axis of identity in media studies and this research scrutinizes how developers construct socioeconomic class, particularly through character-creator interfaces. We begin by building a theoretical repertoire for studying identity in digital game interfaces while also scrutinizing long-established discourses of race and gender in the fantasy genre. We then analyze the hierarchies embedded in both games’ character creators, connecting them with broader gameplay and narrative themes and contextualizing them in established media stereotypes and existing scholarship.
Transcription factor ETS proto-oncogene 1 contributes to neuropathic pain by regulating histone deacetylase 1 in primary afferent neurons
Authors: Zheng Hong-Li , Sun Shi-Yu , Jin Tong , Zhang Ming , Zeng Ying , Liu Qiaoqiao , Yang Kehui , Wei Runa , Pan Zhiqiang , Lin Fuqing
Published: January 2023

Nerve injury can induce aberrant changes in ion channels, enzymes, and cytokines/chemokines in the dorsal root ganglia (DRGs); these changes are due to or at least partly governed by transcription factors that contribute to the genesis of neuropathic pain. However, the involvement of transcription factors in neuropathic pain is poorly understood. In this study, we report that transcription factor (TF) ETS proto-oncogene 1 (ETS1) is required for the initiation and development of neuropathic pain. Sciatic nerve chronic constrictive injury (CCI, a clinical neuropathic pain model) increases ETS1 expression in the injured male mouse DRG. Blocking this upregulation alleviated CCI-induced mechanical allodynia and thermal hyperalgesia, with no apparent effect on locomotor function. Mimicking this upregulation results in the genesis of nociception hypersensitivity; mechanistically, nerve injury-induced ETS1 upregulation promotes the expression of histone deacetylase 1 (HDAC1, a key initiator of pain) via enhancing its binding activity to the HDAC1 promotor, leading to the elevation of spinal central sensitization, as evidenced by increased expression of p-ERK1/2 and GFAP in the dorsal spinal horn. It appears that the ETS1/HDAC1 axis in DRG may have a critical role in the development and maintenance of neuropathic pain, and ETS1 is a potential therapeutic target in neuropathic pain.
Factors related to white thrombi in acute ischemic stroke in cancer patients
Authors: Ikeda Hiroyuki , Ishibashi Ryota , Kinosada Masanori , Uezato Minami , Hata Hidenobu , Kaneko Ryosuke , Hayashi Tomoko , Yamashita Haruki , Nukata Ryotaro , Takada Kensuke , Kurosaki Yoshitaka , Chin Masaki , Yamagata Sen
Published: January 2023

Objectives

Thrombi in cerebral large vessel occlusion associated with active cancer are often fibrin and platelet-rich white thrombi. However, evaluating the thrombus composition in a short time before thrombectomy is often ineffective. We sought to determine factors related to white thrombi in acute ischemic stroke due to large vessel occlusion in cancer patients.

Methods

Consecutive cancer patients undergoing thrombectomy for acute ischemic stroke due to large vessel occlusion between January 2018 and May 2022 were retrospectively reviewed. The patients were classified into white thrombus and red thrombus groups on the basis of the pathological findings of retrieved thrombi. Patient characteristics and laboratory findings were compared between the two groups.

Results

There were 12 patients in the white thrombus group and 11 patients in the red thrombus group. Active cancer was significantly more in the white thrombus group than in the red thrombus group (91.7% vs. 36.3%, p = 0.0094). Internal carotid artery occlusion was significantly less in the white thrombus group than in the red thrombus group (0% vs. 36.4%, p = 0.037). Among laboratory findings, D-dimer levels were an independent factor associated with white thrombi (odds ratio 8.97 [95% confidence interval 1.71–368.99], p < 0.0001). The cutoff value of D-dimer levels for predicting white thrombi was 3.5 μg/mL (83.3% sensitivity and 100% specificity).

Conclusions

In acute ischemic stroke in cancer patients, active cancer, no internal carotid artery occlusion, and higher D-dimer levels (≥3.5 μg/mL) may be associated with occlusion with fibrin and platelet-rich white thrombi.
Posterior fossa giant adenoid cystic carcinoma with skull base invasion mimicking glomus jugulare: A case report and review of literature
Authors: Das Anand Kumar , Singh Saraj Kumar , Bhavana Kranti , Kumar Subhash
Published: January 2023

The author describes a rare case of giant adenoid cystic carcinoma (ACC) mimicking large paraganglioma with lower cranial nerve palsy. A 60-year-old female presented with a progressive increase in postauricular swelling with unilateral hearing loss, facial deviation, difficulty in swallowing, and hoarseness of voice. MRI brain showed highly vascular infiltrating and osteolytic mass suggestive of large glomus jugulare versus sarcoma. It was completely engulfing the jugular foramen and lower cranial nerves with bony erosion of the jugular foramen and occipital condyle. The whole mastoid was filled with the tumor. On digital subtraction angiography the majority of blood supply was from the occipital branch of the external carotid artery and vertebral artery. The patient underwent percutaneous embolization followed by external carotid ligation and resection of the mass. The postoperative course was uneventful. Histopathology was suggestive of mixed ACCs. The patient received radiotherapy. After 1 year of follow up no recurrence or distant metastasis was noted.
Lower corticospinal excitability and greater fatigue among people with multiple sclerosis experiencing pain
Authors: Murphy Hannah M. , Fetter Christopher M. , Snow Nicholas J. , Chaves Arthur R. , Downer Matthew B. , Ploughman Michelle
Published: January 2023

Introduction

Persons with multiple sclerosis (MS) frequently report pain that negatively affects their quality of life. Evidence linking pain and corticospinal excitability in MS is sparse. We aimed to (1) examine differences in corticospinal excitability in MS participants with and without pain and (2) explore predictors of pain.

Methods

Sixty-four participants rated their pain severity on a visual analog scale (VAS). Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) and validated clinical instruments characterized corticospinal excitability and subjective disease features like mood and fatigue. We retrieved information on participants' prescriptions and disability status from their clinical records.

Results

Fifty-five percent of participants reported pain that affected their daily functioning. Persons with pain had significantly greater fatigue and lower area under the excitatory motor evoked potential (MEP) recruitment curve (eREC AUC), a measure of total corticospinal excitability. After controlling for age, disability status, and pain medications, increased fatigue and decreased eREC AUC together explained 40% of the variance in pain.

Discussion

Pain in MS is multifactorial and relates to both greater fatigue and lesser corticospinal excitability. Future work should better characterize relationships between these outcomes to develop targeted pain interventions such as neuromodulation.

We examined pain in MS. Individuals with pain had higher fatigue and lower corticospinal excitability than those without pain. These outcomes significantly predicted self-reported pain.
Hearing Asymmetry Biases Spatial Hearing in Bimodal Cochlear-Implant Users Despite Bilateral Low-Frequency Hearing Preservation
Authors: Sharma Snandan , H.M. Mens Lucas , F.M. Snik Ad , van Opstal A. John , van Wanrooij Marc M.
Published: January 2023

Many cochlear implant users with binaural residual (acoustic) hearing benefit from combining electric and acoustic stimulation (EAS) in the implanted ear with acoustic amplification in the other. These bimodal EAS listeners can potentially use low-frequency binaural cues to localize sounds. However, their hearing is generally asymmetric for mid- and high-frequency sounds, perturbing or even abolishing binaural cues. Here, we investigated the effect of a frequency-dependent binaural asymmetry in hearing thresholds on sound localization by seven bimodal EAS listeners. Frequency dependence was probed by presenting sounds with power in low-, mid-, high-, or mid-to-high-frequency bands. Frequency-dependent hearing asymmetry was present in the bimodal EAS listening condition (when using both devices) but was also induced by independently switching devices on or off. Using both devices, hearing was near symmetric for low frequencies, asymmetric for mid frequencies with better hearing thresholds in the implanted ear, and monaural for high frequencies with no hearing in the non-implanted ear. Results show that sound-localization performance was poor in general. Typically, localization was strongly biased toward the better hearing ear. We observed that hearing asymmetry was a good predictor for these biases. Notably, even when hearing was symmetric a preferential bias toward the ear using the hearing aid was revealed. We discuss how frequency dependence of any hearing asymmetry may lead to binaural cues that are spatially inconsistent as the spectrum of a sound changes. We speculate that this inconsistency may prevent accurate sound-localization even after long-term exposure to the hearing asymmetry.
Divergent environmentalisms, conflicting counter-hegemonies: Lessons from the rights of nature movement
Authors: Rzedzian Stefan
Published: January 2023

Within current literature on social movements, the existence and interrelations of multiple counter-hegemonies remains heavily undertheorised. Indeed, while the existence of such phenomena is acknowledged, in as much as scholars recognise that hegemony and counter-hegemony exist in plurality and in variegated forms, attention to the interactions between simultaneously existing counter-hegemonies is underexplored. In this article I draw attention to the ways in which multiple counter-hegemonies exist within a single social movement, and how those counter-hegemonies come into conflict with one another. Specifically, I show how one counter-hegemonic struggle comes to reproduce the hegemony against which the other is fighting. I situate this discussion within a case study of the rights of nature movement, operating in variegated forms within Ecuador and the United Nations’ Harmony with Nature Dialogues.