bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Ethnic Differences in the Degree of Morning Blood Pressure Surge and in Its Determinants Between Japanese and European Hypertensive Subjects
Authors: Hoshide Satoshi , Kario Kazuomi , de la Sierra Alejandro , Bilo Grzegorz , Schillaci Giuseppe , Banegas José Ramón , Gorostidi Manuel , Segura Julian , Lombardi Carolina , Omboni Stefano , Ruilope Luis , Mancia Giuseppe , Parati Gianfranco
Published: August 2015

Morning blood pressure (BP) surge has been reported to be a prognostic factor for cardiovascular events. Its determinants are still poorly defined, however. In particular, it is not clear whether ethnic differences play a role in determining morning surge (MS) size. Aim of our study was to explore whether differences exist in the size of MS between Japanese and Western European hypertensive patients. We included 2887 untreated hypertensive patients (age 62.3±8.8 years) from a European ambulatory BP monitoring database and 811 hypertensive patients from a Japanese database (Jichi Medical School Ambulatory Blood Pressure Monitoring WAVE1, age 72.3±9.8 years) following the same inclusion criteria. Their 24-hour ambulatory BP monitoring recordings were analyzed focusing on MS. Sleep-trough MS was defined as the difference between mean systolic BP during the 2 hours after awakening and mean systolic BP during the 1-hour night period that included the lowest sleep BP level. The sleep-trough MS was higher in Japanese than in European hypertensive patients after adjusting for age and 24-hour mean BP levels (40.1 [95% confidence interval 39.0–41.2] versus 23.0 [22.4–23.5] mm Hg;
P
<0.001). This difference remained significant after accounting for differences in night-time BP dipping. Age was independently associated with MS in the Japanese database, but not in the European subjects. Our results for the first time show the occurrence of substantial ethnic differences in the degree of MS. These findings may help in understanding the role of ethnic factors in cardiovascular risk assessment and in identifying possible ethnicity-related differences in the most effective measures to be implemented for prevention of BP-related cardiovascular events.
Infarct Size, Shock, and Heart Failure: Does Reperfusion Strategy Matter in Early Presenting Patients With ST‐Segment Elevation Myocardial Infarction?
Authors: Shavadia Jay , Zheng Yinggan , Dianati Maleki Neda , Huber Kurt , Halvorsen Sigrun , Goldstein Patrick , Gershlick Anthony H. , Wilcox Robert , Van de Werf Frans , Armstrong Paul W.
Published: August 2015

Background

A pharmacoinvasive (
PI
) strategy for early presenting
ST
‐segment elevation myocardial infarction nominally reduced 30‐day cardiogenic shock and congestive heart failure compared with primary percutaneous coronary intervention (
PPCI
). We evaluated whether infarct size (
IS
) was related to this finding.

Methods and Results

Using the peak cardiac biomarker in patients randomized to
PI
versus
PPCI
within the Strategic Reperfusion Early After Myocardial Infarction (
STREAM
) trial,
IS
was divided into 3 groups: small (≤2 times the upper limit normal [
ULN
]), medium (>2 to ≤5 times the upper limit normal) and large (>5 times the upper limit normal). The association between
IS
and 30‐day shock and congestive heart failure was subsequently examined. Data on 1701 of 1892 (89.9%) patients randomized to
PI
(n=853, 50.1%) versus
PPCI
(n=848, 49.9%) within
STREAM
were evaluated. A higher proportion of
PPCI
patients had a large
IS
(
PI
versus
PPCI
: small, 49.8% versus 50.2%; medium, 56.9% versus 43.1%; large, 48.4% versus 51.6%;
P
=0.035), despite comparable intergroup ischemic times for each reperfusion strategy. As
IS
increased, a parallel increment in shock and congestive heart failure occurred in both treatment arms, except for the small
IS
group. The difference in shock and congestive heart failure in the small
IS
group (4.4% versus 11.6%,
P
=0.026) in favor of
PI
likely relates to higher rates of aborted myocardial infarction with the
PI
strategy (72.7% versus 54.3%,
P
=0.005). After adjustment, a trend favoring
PI
persisted in this subgroup (relative risk 0.40, 95%
CI
0.15 to 1.06,
P
=0.064); no difference in treatment‐related outcomes was evident in the other 2 groups.

Conclusion

A
PI
strategy appears to alter the pattern of
IS
after
ST
‐segment elevation myocardial infarction, resulting in more medium and fewer large infarcts compared with
PPCI
. Despite a comparable number of small infarcts,
PI
patients in this group had more aborted myocardial infarctions and less 30‐day shock and congestive heart failure.

Clinical Trial Registration

URL
:
http://ClinicalTrials.gov
. Unique identifier:
NCT
00623623.
Inactivation of Endothelial Small/Intermediate Conductance of Calcium‐Activated Potassium Channels Contributes to Coronary Arteriolar Dysfunction in Diabetic Patients
Authors: Liu Yuhong , Xie An , Singh Arun K. , Ehsan Afshin , Choudhary Gaurav , Dudley Samuel , Sellke Frank W. , Feng Jun
Published: August 2015

Background

Diabetes is associated with coronary arteriolar endothelial dysfunction. We investigated the role of the small/intermediate (

SK
C

a
/

IK
C

a
) conductance of calcium‐activated potassium channels in diabetes‐related endothelial dysfunction.

Methods and Results

Coronary arterioles (80 to 150 μm in diameter) were dissected from discarded right atrial tissues of diabetic (glycosylated hemoglobin = 9.6±0.25) and nondiabetic patients (glycosylated hemoglobin 5.4±0.12) during coronary artery bypass graft surgery (n=8/group). In‐vitro relaxation response of precontracted arterioles was examined in the presence of the selective

SK
C

a
/

IK
C

a
activator
NS
309 and other vasodilatory agents. The channel density and membrane potential of diabetic and nondiabetic endothelial cells was measured by using the whole cell patch‐clamp technique. The protein expression and distribution of the

SK
C

a
/

IK
C

a
in the human myocardium and coronary arterioles was examined by Western blotting and immunohistochemistry. Our results indicate that diabetes significantly reduced the coronary arteriolar response to the

SK
C

a
/

IK
C

a
activator
NS
309 compared to the respective responses of nondiabetic vessels (
P
<0.05 versus nondiabetes). The relaxation response of diabetic arterioles to
NS
309 was prevented by denudation of endothelium (
P
=0.001 versus endothelium‐intact). Diabetes significantly decreased endothelial

SK
C

a
/

IK
C

a
currents and hyperpolarization induced by the

SK
C

a
/

IK
C

a
activator
NS
309 as compared with that of nondiabetics. There were no significant differences in the expression and distribution of

SK
C

a
/

IK
C

a
proteins in the coronary microvessels.

Conclusions

Diabetes is associated with inactivation of endothelial

SK
C

a
/

IK
C

a
channels, which may contribute to endothelial dysfunction in diabetic patients.
Acute Heart Failure and Atrial Fibrillation: Insights From the Acute Study of Clinical Effectiveness of Nesiritide in Decompensated Heart Failure (ASCEND‐HF) Trial
Authors: Abualnaja Seraj , Podder Mohua , Hernandez Adrian F. , McMurray John J. V. , Starling Randall C. , O'Connor Christopher M. , Califf Robert M. , Armstrong Paul W. , Ezekowitz Justin A.
Published: August 2015

Background

Patients with acute heart failure (
AHF
) frequently have atrial fibrillation (
AF
), but how this affects patient‐reported outcomes has not been well characterized.

Methods and Results

We examined dyspnea improvement and clinical outcomes in 7007 patients in the Acute Study of Clinical Effectiveness of Nesiritide in Decompensated Heart Failure (
ASCEND
‐
HF
) trial. At baseline, 2677 (38.2%) patients had current or a history of
AF
and 4330 (61.8%) did not. Patients with a history of
AF
were older than those without (72 vs. 63 years) and had more comorbidities and a higher median left ventricular ejection fraction (31% vs. 27%,
P
<0.001). Compared to those without
AF
, patients with
AF
had a similar mean ventricular rate on admission (81 vs. 83 beats per minute [bpm];
P
=0.138) but a lower rate at discharge (75 vs. 78 bpm;
P
<0.001). There was no difference in dyspnea improvement between patients with and without
AF
at 6 hours (
P
=0.087), but patients with
AF
had less dyspnea improvement at 24 hours (
P
<0.001). Compared to patients without
AF
, patients with
AF
had a higher 30‐day all‐cause mortality rate (4.7% vs. 3.3%;
P
=0.005), a higher 30‐day
HF
rehospitalisation rate (7.2% vs. 5.3%;
P
=0.001), and a higher coprimary composite outcome of 30‐day death or readmission (11.6% vs. 8.6%;
P
<0.001). This difference persisted after adjustment for prognostic variables (adjusted odds ratio=1.19; (95% confidence interval, 1.02 to 1.38;
P
=0.029).

Conclusions

Among patients admitted to the hospital with
AHF
, current or a history of
AF
is associated with less dyspnea improvement and higher morbidity and mortality at 30‐days, compared to those not in
AF
.

Clinical Trial Registration

URL
:
http://www.clinicaltrials.gov
. Unique identifier:
NCT
00475852.
Colchicine Acutely Suppresses Local Cardiac Production of Inflammatory Cytokines in Patients With an Acute Coronary Syndrome
Authors: Martínez Gonzalo J. , Robertson Stacy , Barraclough Jennifer , Xia Qiong , Mallat Ziad , Bursill Christina , Celermajer David S. , Patel Sanjay
Published: August 2015

Background

Interleukin (
IL
)‐1β,
IL
‐18, and downstream
IL
‐6 are key inflammatory cytokines in the pathogenesis of coronary artery disease. Colchicine is believed to block the
NLRP
3 inflammasome, a cytosolic complex responsible for the production of
IL
‐1β and
IL
‐18. In vivo effects of colchicine on cardiac cytokine release have not been previously studied. This study aimed to (1) assess the local cardiac production of inflammatory cytokines in patients with acute coronary syndromes (
ACS
), stable coronary artery disease and in controls; and (2) determine whether acute administration of colchicine inhibits their production.

Methods and Results

Forty
ACS
patients, 33 with stable coronary artery disease, and 10 controls, were included.
ACS
and stable coronary artery disease patients were randomized to oral colchicine treatment (1 mg followed by 0.5 mg 1 hour later) or no colchicine, 6 to 24 hours prior to cardiac catheterization. Blood samples from the coronary sinus, aortic root (arterial), and lower right atrium (venous) were collected and tested for
IL
‐1β,
IL
‐18, and
IL
‐6 using
ELISA
. In
ACS
patients, coronary sinus levels of
IL
‐1β,
IL
‐18, and
IL
‐6 were significantly higher than arterial and venous levels (
P
=0.017, <0.001 and <0.001, respectively). Transcoronary (coronary sinus‐arterial) gradients for
IL
‐1β,
IL
‐18, and
IL
‐6 were highest in
ACS
patients and lowest in controls (
P
=0.077, 0.033, and 0.014, respectively). Colchicine administration significantly reduced transcoronary gradients of all 3 cytokines in
ACS
patients by 40% to 88% (
P
=0.028, 0.032, and 0.032, for
IL
‐1β,
IL
‐18, and
IL
‐6, respectively).

Conclusions

ACS
patients exhibit increased local cardiac production of inflammatory cytokines. Short‐term colchicine administration rapidly and significantly reduces levels of these cytokines.
Long‐Term Antiplatelet Mono‐ and Dual Therapies After Ischemic Stroke or Transient Ischemic Attack: Network Meta‐Analysis
Authors: Xie Wuxiang , Zheng Fanfan , Zhong Baoliang , Song Xiaoyu
Published: August 2015

Background

The latest guidelines do not make clear recommendations on the selection of antiplatelet therapies for long‐term secondary prevention of stroke. We aimed to integrate the available evidence to create hierarchies of the comparative efficacy and safety of long‐term antiplatelet therapies after ischemic stroke or transient ischemic attack.

Methods and Results

We performed a network meta‐analysis of randomized controlled trials to compare 11 antiplatelet therapies in patients with ischemic stroke or transient ischemic attack. In December 2014, we searched Medline, Embase, and the Cochrane Library database for trials. The search identified 24 randomized controlled trials including a total of 85 667 patients with antiplatelet treatments for at least 1 year. Cilostazol significantly reduced stroke recurrence in comparison with aspirin (odds ratio 0.66, 95% credible interval 0.44 to 0.92) and dipyridamole (odds ratio 0.57, 95% credible interval 0.34 to 0.95), respectively. Cilostazol also significantly reduced intracranial hemorrhage compared with aspirin, clopidogrel, terutroban, ticlopidine, aspirin plus clopidogrel, and aspirin plus dipyridamole. Aspirin plus clopidogrel could not significantly reduce stroke recurrence compared with monotherapies but caused significantly more major bleeding than all monotherapies except terutroban. The pooled estimates did not change materially in the sensitivity analyses of the primary efficacy outcome.

Conclusions

Long‐term monotherapy was a better choice than long‐term dual therapy, and cilostazol had the best risk–benefit profile for long‐term secondary prevention after stroke or transient ischemic attack. More randomized controlled trials in non–East Asian patients are needed to determine whether long‐term use of cilostazol is the best option for the prevention of recurrent stroke.
New species or interesting records of foliicolous lichens VII. Calenia flava (Ostropales: Gomphillaceae)

Authors: Lücking Robert , Sérusiaux Emmanuël , Sipman Harrie J.M.
Published: August 2015

Calenia flava spec. nova from Papua New Guinea is described and illustrated. The new species is closely related to C. phyllogena but differs in the larger apothecia with yellow disc and the abundance of sterile thallus hairs.
Ein Beitrag zur Moosflora von Benin
Authors: Dilg Claudia , Frahm Jan-Peter
Published: August 2015

Benin is bryologically one of the least known African countries. An inventory of the Lama forest reserve revealed 11 species of mosses and 12 species of hepatics, of which 7 species of mosses and all species of hepatics are new to Benin.
A small collection of bryophytes from Ethiopia
Authors: Wigginton M. J.
Published: August 2015

6 liverwort taxa and 21 moss taxa were collected at or near Lalibela, Wolo Province, Ethiopia, on 1-2 March 1997, of which 12 moss taxa are new to the country.
New records of mosses from Dominican amber

Authors: Frahm Jan-Peter
Published: August 2015

Hypnum cupressiforme, Entodon macropus, Homalia glabella and Calyptothecium duplicatum are recorded as new from Dominican amber. Earlier records of Neckera spec. have to be transferred to Calyptothecium duplicatum. These records raise the total number of all mosses known from Dominican amber to 14. All mosses so far reported from Dominican amber are extant species which occur today in the Dominican Republic. This could indicate that the mossflora in the island of Hispaniola has not changed during the past 20-40 Mio years, but also falsifications of fossils in amber have to be taken into account, which can be suspected from the quality of some of the specimens.
Hidden diversity of endoparasitic eriophyoid mites: two new Novophytoptus Roivainen, 1947 (Acari: Eriophyoidea: Phytoptidae) species from the parenchymatous tissues of rushes (Juncaceae)
Authors: CHETVERIKOV PHILIPP E.
Published: August 2015

The monogeneric subfamily Novophytoptinae is a separate lineage of phytoptids restricted to endoparasitism on herbaceous monocots of the order Poales. Novophytoptines live under the epidermis of their hosts where they feed on parenchymatous cells and reproduce therein. It is unknown yet how novophytoptines penetrate the plant epidermis, but preliminary observations indicate that they might be able to penetrate through circular holes which they cut in the epidermis using their modified gnathosoma. Two new species, Novophytoptus luzulis n. sp. from Luzula pilosa L. and Novophytoptus maritimus n. sp. from Juncus maritimus Lam., are described and illustrated. Two small pores, presumably representing external openings of spermathecal tubes, were found in the postero-medial genital cuticle (sensu Chetverikov 2014b) at the level between the posterior margin of the genital coverflap and the genital rim, in both new species. This is the first documented report of such structures in slide-mounted eriophyoid mites. CLSM and DIC microscopy-based observations showed that novophytoptines possess a peculiar spermathecal apparatus, including greatly expanded sack-shaped spermathecae and thick, bent spermathecal tubes directed anteriad, and a semicircular anterior genital apodeme perpendicular to the long body axis. Similarity in the structure of the spermathecal apparatus among novophytoptines, phytoptines and sierraphytoptines (all Phytoptidae from angiosperms) apparently supports their assignment to a common group. Additional examples of endoparasitism among Eriophyoidea are listed. The hypothesis of a primary endoparasitic life style in the eriophyoid basal stalk and a secondary shift to free living forms on exposed surfaces of plants is briefly discussed. Research on grass-associated endoparasitic mites is important because they may include new vectors of pathogens. SketchUp Free Software is recommended as one of the most simple and promising 3D drawing tools for modeling the internal genitalia and other complex anatomical structures of microarthropods (especially eriophyoids) based on digital data obtained using various microscopic techniques such as CLSM.
Lidar and Pressure Measurements of Inner-Surfzone Waves and Setup
Authors: Brodie K. L. , Raubenheimer B. , Elgar Steve , Slocum R. K. , McNinch J. E.
Published: August 2015

Observations of waves and setup on a steep, sandy beach are used to identify and assess potential applications of spatially dense lidar measurements for studying inner-surf and swash-zone hydrodynamics. There is good agreement between lidar- and pressure-based estimates of water levels (r2 = 0.98, rmse = 0.05 m), setup (r2 = 0.92, rmse = 0.03 m), infragravity wave heights (r2 = 0.91, rmse = 0.03 m), swell–sea wave heights (r2 = 0.87, rmse = 0.07 m), and energy density spectra. Lidar observations did not degrade with range (up to 65 m offshore of the lidar) when there was sufficient foam present on the water surface to generate returns, suggesting that for narrow-beam 1550-nm light, spatially varying spot size, grazing angle affects, and linear interpolation (to estimate the water surface over areas without returns) are not large sources of error. Consistent with prior studies, the lidar and pressure observations indicate that standing infragravity waves dominate inner-surf and swash energy at low frequencies and progressive swell–sea waves dominate at higher frequencies. The spatially dense lidar measurements enable estimates of reflection coefficients from pairs of locations at a range of spatial lags (thus spanning a wide range of frequencies or wavelengths). Reflection is high at low frequencies, increases with beach slope, and decreases with increasing offshore wave height, consistent with prior studies. Lidar data also indicate that wave asymmetry increases rapidly across the inner surf and swash. The comparisons with pressure measurements and with theory demonstrate that lidar measures inner-surf waves and setup accurately, and can be used for studies of inner-surf and swash-zone hydrodynamics.
The connected worlds of Haji Mustapha (c. 1730–91): A Eurasian cosmopolitan in eighteenth-century Bengal
Authors: Travers Robert
Published: August 2015

Haji Mustapha (d. 1791), sometimes also referred to by the French name Raymond, or by his pen name ‘Nota Manus’ (‘a known hand’), is best known as the translator and publisher of one of the most celebrated Indo-Persian histories of the eighteenth century, the Seir Mutaqherin, published in Calcutta in 1789–90. Situating Mustapha’s life story within a growing historiography concerned with early modern forms of cosmopolitanism, ‘trans-imperial subjects’ and ‘go-betweens’, this essay presents new evidence about the origins and longer trajectory of Mustapha’s remarkable career. It explores his family background in the trans-imperial networks of merchants and dragomans that connected the French and Ottoman empires in the early modern period. It shows how Mustapha reinvented himself in Bengal as a political informer to the British Empire, cultivating a persona as a Eurasian cosmopolitan who could mediate between European and South Asian political cultures. Treating Mustapha as an interesting political thinker in his own right, the essay examines his adaptationist view of imperial politics and his efforts to conjugate and cross-fertilise the political and intellectual traditions of European and Islamic empires. It also shows how Mustapha’s Eurasian cosmopolitan style struggled to contend with the changing forms of British imperial patriotism.
Exploring the elite world in the Siyar al-Awliyā’: Urban elites, their lineages and social networks
Authors: Balachandran Jyoti Gulati
Published: August 2015

Composed by Amīr Khwurd around the middle of the fourteenth century, the Siyar al-Awliyā’ presents a coherent history of the Chishti spiritual order (silsilah) in the Indian subcontinent from the early thirteenth to the mid-fourteenth century. Historians have mined the text for information on Sufis and Sufism while ignoring its special attributes. This article makes a historiographical and methodological intervention by showing how a Sufi biographical compendium (tazkira) can be used to write a history of the Muslim society and an incipient Chishti fraternity.
Book Review: Rosalind O’Hanlon, At the Edges of Empire: Essays in the Social and Intellectual History of India
Authors: Anooshahr Ali
Published: August 2015

Rosalind O’Hanlon, At the Edges of Empire: Essays in the Social and Intellectual History of India, Delhi: Permanent Black, 2014, pp. 539.
Enhancing the accessibility of starch size and cellulose to enzymes in raw cotton woven fabric by air-plasma pretreatment
Authors: Szabo Orsolya Erzsebet , Csiszar Emilia , Koczka Bela , Toth Andras , Klebert Szilvia
Published: August 2015

In this paper, raw cotton fabric was pretreated with non-thermal atmospheric air-plasma and the accessibility of the surface polymers of the fibers and yarns that act as respective substrates for the enzymes was evaluated. Results proved that plasma slightly destroyed and oxidized the starch size on the surface of warp yarns and partially removed the thin and perfectly hydrophobic waxy coverage of the fibers in weft yarns, creating deep “pits” with a depth of 215 nm. This latter process contributed to the exposure of cellulose and pectin located under the waxy outer layer of the elementary fibers in the weft yarns, and significantly increased the surface roughness of the fibers (from Rq of 25 to 67 nm for the raw and 180 s plasma-treated samples, respectively). Amount of the reducing sugars released during the amylase and cellulase digestion of the plasma-treated fabrics confirmed that air-plasma significantly increased the accessibility of the starch and cellulose, respectively, to the enzymes and resulted in an enhanced solubilization of both polymers. Since the plasma-treated substrates displayed significantly faster enzyme reactions, the time of enzymatic treatments can be sharply reduced.
A Religious Worldview
Authors: Goplen Joanna , Plant E. Ashby
Published: August 2015

For some people, religion strongly influences their worldviews. We propose that religious outgroups threaten the foundational beliefs of people with strong religious worldviews (RWVs) by endorsing alternative belief systems and that this threat contributes to religious prejudice. To examine these ideas, we developed a measure of RWV strength and assessed the role of RWV threat in religious prejudice. Across five studies, strength of RWV was related to religious prejudice, including derogation and denial of alternative religious viewpoints, as well as support for suppressing, avoiding, and even aggressing against religious outgroups. These responses were strongest toward religious outgroups whose worldviews were the most different, and therefore most threatening. Mediational analyses revealed that strong RWV people expressed heightened prejudice because of the worldview threat posed by religious outgroup members. These findings indicate that the avoidance and subjugation of religious outgroups can serve as a worldview protection strategy for some people.
The unbearable lightness of information and the impossible gravitas of knowledge: Big Data and the makings of a digital orality
Authors: Papacharissi Zizi
Published: August 2015

This essay is written in response and extension to the thoughts offered by danah boyd and Kate Crawford on whether Big Data change how we define knowledge. I suggest that they do not, but they do reinforce and reproduce a form of communicating knowledge that I have been referring to as a digital orality. Online networked platforms, supportive of Big Data and a variety of similar analytical formulations, blend interpersonal and mass storytelling practices variably, offering a reconciliation of primary and secondary orality tendencies and tensions. Literacy, in the form of asking questions about the origins, the textures, and the implications of Big Data, paves the path toward rendering data, small or large, into new modalities of storytelling that a digital orality affords, mastering this orality, and turning these stories into meaningful forms of situated knowledge.
Reflections on Big Data: ‘Just because it is accessible does not make it ethical’
Authors: Qiu Jack Linchuan
Published: August 2015

Drawing from observations in China and from world history, this is a reflection on boyd and Crawford’s provocation on social problems related to Big Data, especially ‘Just because it is accessible does not make it ethnical’.
QSem: A novel question representation framework for question matching over accumulated question–answer data
Authors: Hao Tianyong , Qu Yingying
Published: August 2015

This paper proposes a novel question representation framework to assist automated question answering through reusing accumulated question–answer data. The framework, named QSem, defines three types of question words – question-target words, user-oriented words and irrelevant words, along with semantic patterns, for representing a question. The question word types are semantically labelled by a pre-defined ontology to enrich the semantic representation of questions. The semantic patterns through equivalent pattern linking enhance normal structure matching aiming at improving question matching performance. We trained QSem on 400 randomly selected questions with semantic patterns and obtained optimized parameters. After that, 5000 questions from our system were tested and the precision of question matching was between 0.71 and 0.93 with respect to various generators, indicating the stability of the approach. We further compared our approach with Cosine similarity, WordNet-based semantic similarity and IBM translation model on a standard TREC dataset containing 5536 questions. The results presented that our approach achieved best performance with mean reciprocal rank increased by 7.2% and accuracy increased by 7.5% on average, demonstrating the effectiveness of the approach.
Enjoyable life: Planning, amenity and the contested terrain of urban biopolitics
Authors: Rutland Ted
Published: August 2015

This article explores the connections between urban planning and a particular form of biopolitics. These connections are investigated by looking at the emergence of “enjoyment” as a planning concern in late 1960s Halifax, Nova Scotia. This new concern, the article suggests, emerged as a result of a political struggle involving activist groups, a newly formed state agency, and elements of the post-World War II political establishment. Wedded to this concern were two essential planning policies: the promotion of “amenity” (especially in the downtown) and the introduction of structured “citizen involvement” in planning decisions. Together, these two policies inaugurated a new form of planning and biopolitics. The promotion of amenity aimed to create a more enjoyable life through the alteration of prevailing conditions of life, while citizen involvement routed planning decisions – including the precise meaning of amenity – through “liberal” practices of government. Most importantly, the new policies were shaped by the enactment of normative divisions within the population, a characteristically biopolitical effect. The result of these divisions was a highly unequal process of citizen involvement and a correspondingly uneven terrain of enjoyment: a terrain whose development and use would provide enjoyment for “normative” populations, while leaving “pathological” populations unaffected or worse.
Becoming Jane: The making and unmaking of Hanford’s nuclear body
Authors: Cram Shannon
Published: August 2015

This article examines the politics of permissible exposure in American nuclear remediation. At its heart is Washington State’s Hanford Nuclear Reservation, the nation’s largest and most expensive nuclear cleanup effort. According to Superfund regulation, nuclear landscapes are considered remediated once acceptable carcinogenic risk levels have been met. The challenge of remediation, then, is to measure and manage the conditions of carcinogenic encounter—titrating environmental contamination with human activity to achieve the appropriate balance of permissible dose. In this article, I follow the genesis and development of “Jane,” a future human designed for life in post-cleanup Hanford. Jane embodies a distinct set of regulated movements and activities, each specifically calculated to ensure legal compliance within the terms of acceptable risk. In tracing Jane’s genealogy, I examine the history of radiogenic science and the official making of nuclear safety. Next, I discuss the efforts of two local Native American tribes to craft their own future human template, a standardized indigenous body designed for use in Hanford’s remediation planning. Rejected by federal regulators, the indigenous body is framed as Jane’s constitutive outside, remediation’s unthinkable subject. As such, I consider how cleanup efforts seek to reconstitute life itself—formalizing a new baseline from which to evaluate the boundaries and biologies of post-nuclear existence.
The influence of neoliberal economics on small business accounting research: A critical evaluation of agendas and methodologies
Authors: Parry Simon N
Published: August 2015

This article contributes to current debates on agendas and methodologies in small business research by critiquing small business accounting research paradigms within the context of contemporary neoliberal economic policy. Published research is critically examined; it is then argued that a hegemonic neoliberal economic discourse of entrepreneurship has resulted in a narrow research focus and a restricted use of methodologies. We suggest that there is both an economic and an epistemological rationale for more research which focuses on the broader social and political context of accounting within small businesses, rather than a narrow focus on accounting’s role in business growth. The question of appropriate methodology for future research is raised. The limitations of a predominantly quantitative, survey-based and normative approach are discussed and the potential benefits of alternative methodologies are explored.
Free speech and the market state: Race, media and democracy in new liberal times
Authors: Khiabany Gholam , Williamson Milly
Published: August 2015

Press freedom and free speech have again become central questions in discussions of democracy and power. A whole range of events have called into question the role of the press in the democratic process in today’s combined context of economic crisis and the free reign of market forces. From the publication of the racist cartoons in Denmark, to the Wikileaks witch hunt, to the Leveson inquiry in Britain, the rhetoric of press freedom is revealed as a universalizing concept that masks political and class interest – free expression is not treated universally, but is tied to questions of social, political and economic power. This article argues, however, that it is not the case that liberal democracy has latterly been corrupted or impaired. Instead, the significant limits of liberalism, highlighted by the above instances, stem from the historical conditions which gave rise to it; mass revolution and reaction in the 19th century resulted in constitutional democracies which established the principle of freedom, but not the fact. This article will suggest that from the outset, constitutional democracies were shaped by the class interests of an economic elite. There has been a historic entanglement of emancipation and de-emancipation in liberal thought, and the role of the press in this enterprise has been to use a racially charged definition of freedom and the notion of a threat to ‘our freedoms’ to scapegoat the Muslim population and to justify curbing ‘their’ freedoms.
Comparative Effectiveness of Biomarkers to Target Cancer Treatment
Authors: Birnbaum Jeanette K. , Ademuyiwa Foluso O. , Carlson Josh J. , Mallinger Leslie , Mason Mark W. , Etzioni Ruth
Published: August 2015

Background. Biomarkers used at the time of diagnosis to tailor treatment decisions may diffuse into clinical practice before data become available on whether biomarker testing reduces cancer mortality. In the interim, quantitative estimates of the mortality impact of testing are needed to assess the value of these diagnostic biomarkers. These estimates are typically generated by customized models that are resource intensive to build and apply. Methods. We developed a user-friendly system of models for Cancer Translation of Comparative Effectiveness Research (CANTRANce) to model the mortality impact of cancer interventions. The Diagnostic Biomarker module of this system projects the mortality impact of testing for a diagnostic biomarker, given data on how testing affects treatment recommendations. Costs and quality-of-life outcomes may also be modeled. We applied the Diagnostic Biomarker module to 2 case studies to demonstrate its capabilities. Results. The user interface ( http://www.fhcrc.org/cantrance ) allows comparative effectiveness researchers to use the Diagnostic Biomarker module of CANTRANce. Our case studies indicate that the model produces estimates on par with those generated by customized models and is a strong tool for quickly generating novel projections. Limitations. The simple structure that makes CANTRANce user-friendly also constrains the complexity with which cancer progression can be modeled. The quality of the results rests on the quality of the input data, which may pertain to small or dissimilar populations or suffer from informative censoring. Conclusions. The Diagnostic Biomarker module of CANTRANce is a novel public resource that can provide timely insights into the expected mortality impact of testing for diagnostic biomarkers. The model projections should be useful for understanding the long-term potential of emerging diagnostic biomarkers.
Endometrioid adenocarcinoma of the ovary: MRI findings with emphasis on diffusion-weighted imaging for the differentiation of ovarian tumors
Authors: Kovač Jelena Djokić , Terzić Milan , Mirković Milan , Banko Bojan , Đikić-Rom Aleksandra , Maksimović Ružica
Published: August 2015

Background

Preoperative differentiation of ovarian malignant tumors still remains a challenge. Diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) provides information about cellularity of the lesion and might facilitate discrimination between different malignant ovarian lesions.

Purpose

To evaluate magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings of endometrioid adenocarcinoma of the ovary and to determine the value of DWI in the differential diagnosis of malignant and benign adnexal tumors.

Material and Methods

The following MRI findings were reviewed in 162 patients (21 endometrioid adenocarcinoma, 103 other malignant tumors, 38 benign tumors): lesion size, morphological appearance, T2-weighted (T2W) signal intensity, T1-weighted (T1W) signal intensity, contrast-enhancement pattern, DWI signals with apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) calculated for b = 800 s/mm2 in solid tumor components.

Results

The most common morphological appearance was predominantly cystic lesion, found in 90.3% of patients with endometriod adenocarcinoma. The solid parts were slightly hyperintense on T2W images in 19 patients with marked enhancement after contrast administration. No significant difference ( P = 0.13) in conventional MRI features was found between endometrioid adenocarcinoma and other malignant ovarian tumors. Hyperintensity on DWI was more frequently observed in malignant tumors than in benign lesions ( P < 0.001). ADC values were significantly lower in endometrioid adenocarcinoma than other malignant tumors (0.79 ± 0.21 vs. 0.90 ± 0.19; P = 0.04) and in all malignant lesions compared with benign tumors (0.88 ± 0.31 vs. 1.33 ± 0.17; P < 0.001).

Conclusion

DWI with ADC measurement could indicate the presence of endometrioid adenocarcinomas due to a slightly but significantly lower ADC values compared to other malignant ovarian lesions. Thus, DWI is beneficial and should be part of a standard protocol for the evaluation of indeterminate adnexal lesions.
Caring for nanotechnology? Being an integrated social scientist
Authors: Viseu Ana
Published: August 2015

One of the most significant shifts in science policy of the past three decades is a concern with extending scientific practice to include a role for ‘society’. Recently, this has led to legislative calls for the integration of the social sciences and humanities in publicly funded research and development initiatives. In nanotechnology – integration’s primary field site – this policy has institutionalized the practice of hiring social scientists in technical facilities. Increasingly mainstream, the workings and results of this integration mechanism remain understudied. In this article, I build upon my three-year experience as the in-house social scientist at the Cornell NanoScale Facility and the United States’ National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network to engage empirically and conceptually with this mode of governance in nanotechnology. From the vantage point of the integrated social scientist, I argue that in its current enactment, integration emerges as a particular kind of care work, with social scientists being fashioned as the main caretakers. Examining integration as a type of care practice and as a ‘matter of care’ allows me to highlight the often invisible, existential, epistemic, and affective costs of care as governance. Illuminating a framework where social scientists are called upon to observe but not disturb, to reify boundaries rather than blur them, this article serves as a word of caution against integration as a novel mode of governance that seemingly privileges situatedness, care, and entanglement, moving us toward an analytically skeptical (but not dismissive) perspective on integration.
Feasibility and results of a pilot study of group occupational therapy for fall risk management after stroke
Authors: Schmid Arlene A , Miller Kristine K , Van Puymbroeck Marieke , DeBaun-Sprague Erin , Shively Christine , Peterson Elizabeth , Finlayson Marcia
Published: August 2015

Introduction

This article examines the feasibility and outcomes of a pilot study of Group Occupational Therapy for Falls, a fall risk management program designed for individuals with chronic stroke.

Method

This was a single-arm pilot study. All 10 participants had chronic stroke (>6 months), self-reported falling or fear of falling, and used a mobility device. Group Occupational Therapy for Falls included six sessions and focused on individual fall risk factor management. Assessments were completed before and after the intervention and assessed management of fall risk factors (five assessments, including the Falls Control Scale and Falls Prevention Strategy Survey), fear of falling (yes/no) question, falls self-efficacy, and activity and participation with the IMPACT (ICF Measure of Participation and ACTivity). Alpha was set at .10 owing to the small sample size and feasibility/pilot-study design.

Results

Group Occupational Therapy for Falls was feasible and management of fall risk factors improved overall, with significant improvements noted in the Falls Control Scale ( p = .046) and Falls Prevention Strategy Survey (.064). The number of people with FoF significantly decreased ( p = .076).

Conclusion

Group Occupational Therapy for Falls for fall prevention after stroke should be further developed and assessed in people with stroke as a promising intervention that may manage fall risks and possibly fall rates in the future.
Immunomodulatory and antimicrobial efficacy of Lactobacilli against enteropathogenic infection of Salmonella typhi: In-vitro and in-vivo study
Authors: Mazaya Basem , Hamzawy Mohamed A , Khalil Mahmoud AF , Tawkol Wael M , Sabit Hussein
Published: August 2015

Salmonellosis-induced diarrhea, is one of the commonest cause of childhood mortality in developing countries. Using of probiotics is viewed as a promising means for reducing the pathogenic loads of bacterial infection. The current study aimed to evaluate the potential antimicrobial and immunomodulatory efficacy of isolated lactobacillus strains against the enteropathogenic effect of S. Typhi. Different Lactobacillus strains were isolated from 13 dairy products. Their antimicrobial activities were tested against different bacterial strains. Six groups of CD1 mice were treated for 8 days as follows: group (1) untreated control; group (2) was challenged with single inoculation S. typhi, and groups (3) and (4) were treated with Lactobacillus plantarum (LA5) or Lactobacillus paracsi (LA7) for 7 days, respectively. Groups (5) and (6) were challenged with S. typhi, and then treated with either LA5 or LA 7 for 7 days, respectively. Isolated Lactobacillus showed antimicrobial activity against wide range of bacterial strains. Salmonellosis showed high widal titer, induced significant disturbance of TNF and IL-1β, while sever changes of the histological patterns of the intestinal villi and hepatocytes have been illustrated. LA5 or LA7 succeeded to eradicate typhoid infection, restore the values of inflammatory cytokines to typical levels of control group, and improve histological pictures of intestinal and hepatic tissues. It can be concluded that lactobacilli are promising candidate in protection and eradication against bacterial infection induced by S. Typhi due to its antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, and immunomodulatory activities.
Active inflammatory biomarkers in oral lichen planus
Authors: Santarelli Andrea , Mascitti Marco , Rubini Corrado , Bambini Fabrizio , Zizzi Antonio , Offidani Annamaria , Ganzetti Giulia , Laino Luigi , Cicciù Marco , Muzio Lorenzo Lo
Published: August 2015

Oral lichen planus (OLP) is a chronic disease, with a central role to cell-mediated autoimmunity. Osteopontin promotes migration and recruitment of immune cells, CD44 is its receptor, and Survivin seems to be important in skin/mucosa homeostasis. The aim of this study was to investigate their expression in biopsy specimens of patients with different OLP clinical types and healthy controls.

Biopsy specimens from 30 patients with OLP (15 atrophic and 15 hyperplastic) and 15 healthy controls were subjected to immune-histochemical analysis, to detect the expression of osteopontin, CD44, and Survivin in oral epithelia. The distributions of positively stained cells were evaluated with a quantitative method, while the inflammation degree was evaluated with a semi-quantitative one.

Expression of osteopontin and CD44 was higher in OLP than controls, while Survivin expression was lower in OLP patients. There was a greater reduction of Survivin expression in atrophic OLP than hyperplastic OLP. A correlation between osteopontin expression and a high degree of inflammation was found. Furthermore, Survivin expression was higher in cases with low intensity of inflammation.

Osteopontin, CD44, and Survivin seem to be involved in OLP pathogenesis, and further investigations are needed for clarifying their role in this oral disease.
Janus Ante Portas
Authors: Sušnik Urban
Published: August 2015

Distribution, one of the main concerns of classical political economists, is virtually a non-factor when it comes to modern neoclassical economics. The importance and influence of competition between different classes on the factor markets was understood to be a constant feature of capitalism in classical political economy. I have been able to translate this classical conflicting-claims approach in a consistent stock-flow model, with a working banking system, two classes, capitalists and workers, and a vertically integrated firm sector. National income is divided between workers and two sets of capitalist interests: industrial and financial. Results of the model reinforce the intuition of Kalecki’s 1943 essay on Political Aspects of Full Employment. The output of capitalist economies, as well as profits of capitalists, could be higher, with policies of low interest rates and a high worker income share. However, as the paper shows, these hypothetical results are not tenable under a capitalist regime, with long-run changes in the power structure endangering the current social order. Finally the disconnect between the community and capitalists becomes even clearer when we see that a high profit rate implies a lower national income.
Municipal Investment and Property Value Appreciation in Chicago’s Tax Increment Financing Districts
Authors: Kane Kevin , Weber Rachel
Published: August 2015

To determine whether Tax Increment Financing (TIF) triggers or captures growth, we examine the relationship between expenditures and property value change in Chicago’s TIF districts. A regression model relates spending type, which varies from infrastructure to developer subsidies, to a district’s property value growth between 2002 and 2012. Results show variation in the impact of spending, with subsidies for commercial development having the clearest positive relationship while infrastructure spending has a negative effect. Although trends are less clear over the long run, these differences underscore how the effectiveness of TIF cannot be surmised without accounting for variations in spending.
A Child-Centered Scale of Informal Social Control for Latino Parents of Preschool-Age Children
Authors: Cerin Ester , O’Connor Teresia M. , Mendoza Jason A. , Thompson Deborah I. , Lee Rebecca E. , Hughes Sheryl O. , Baranowski Tom
Published: August 2015

Perceived neighborhood informal social control may determine whether parents allow their young children to be physically active in the neighborhood. We developed and validated a scale of neighborhood child-centered informal social control appropriate for Latino parents of preschool-age children. The scale was administered to 240 Latino parents, mainly mothers, recruited from neighborhoods cross-stratified by objectively measured crime and traffic safety. Participants completed measures of community cohesion, perceived signs of physical and social disorder, traffic safety and hazards, and perceived stranger danger. A subsample was reassessed 1 week later to determine test-retest reliability. Confirmatory factor analyses (CFAs) were conducted to examine the fit of the data to a priori measurement models. Construct validity was assessed by estimating the associations of the scale with the other measures. The scale showed good test-retest reliability, and factorial and construct validity. The scale needs to be cross-validated on other samples and Latino fathers.