bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
On Original Sin
Authors: Crisp Oliver D.
Published: June 2015

This article sets out a constructive account of original sin that attempts to take seriously the Christian tradition (particularly, the Reformed tradition), and that avoids the serious theological drawback of the doctrine of original guilt. I dub this account the moderate Reformed doctrine of original sin. I also argue that an adequate understanding of original sin must be open‐textured enough to accommodate some version of the story of evolutionary human development. Although I do not offer an account of how original sin is consistent with evolutionary human development, the doctrine set out here is commensurate with several live options on this controversial theological topic, which I take to be a strength, rather than a weakness, of the view.
A cluster randomized trial on improving nurses’ detection and management of elder abuse and neglect (I‐NEED): study protocol
Authors: Loh Debbie Ann , Choo Wan Yuen , Hairi Noran Naqiah , Othman Sajaratulnisah , Mohd Hairi Farizah , Mohd Mydin Fadzilah Hanum , Jaafar Siti Nur Illiani , Tan Maw Pin , Mohd Ali Zainudin , Abdul Aziz Suriyati , Ramli Rohaya , Mohamad Rosmala , Lal Mohammad Zaiton , Hassan Norlela , Brownell Patricia , Bulgiba Awang
Published: June 2015

Aim

The aim of this study was to describe a trial protocol of an educational intervention for nurses to improve their awareness and practice in detecting and managing elder abuse and neglect.

Background

Knowledgeable and skilful nurses are crucial amidst the growing numbers of maltreated older patients.

Design

This trial is a multi‐site, three‐armed, community‐based cluster randomized controlled trial with 6‐months follow‐up.

Methods

This study will involve 390 community and registered nurses from government health clinics in Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia (protocol approved in October 2013). This three‐phased study, premised on the Precede–Proceed Model, comprises baseline focus group discussion and survey (Phase 1), development of training module (Phase 2) and implementation and evaluation of the training (Phase 3). Eligible participants will be randomized to the control group (continuous nursing education), intervention group A (face‐to‐face intensive training programme) or group B (face‐to‐face intensive training programme and an educational video). Outcome measures include improvement in knowledge and awareness on elder abuse and neglect and the number of cases identified and managed during follow‐up. Data will be collected at baseline, immediate postintervention, 3‐ and 6‐month follow‐up.

Conclusion

Findings from this study will provide empirical support for the development of a training module for nurses on the detection and management of elder abuse and neglect, towards improving healthcare delivery and the well‐being of vulnerable older adults. This study is funded by the University of Malaya Research Grant (RP001C‐13HTM), (FL002‐13SBS) and University of Malaya Grand Challenge (PEACE) Grant (GC001C‐14HTM) awarded in May 2013, July 2013 and September 2014.
Relational Developmental Systems‐Based Theories and the Study of Children and Families: Lerner and Spanier (1978) Revisited
Authors: Lerner Richard M. , Johnson Sara K. , Buckingham Mary H.
Published: June 2015

We discuss the evolution of scientific theory using the example of the relational developmental systems (RDS) metamodel, a conception emphasizing mutually influential relations between individuals and contexts. An important basis for RDS ideas in contemporary developmental science is Lerner and Spanier's (1978) discussion of mutually influential relationships between children and families. In the context of recounting the role of one of the present authors (RML) in the evolution of the RDS metamodel, we compare the Lerner and Spanier discussion with RDS‐based ideas. We present the implications of RDS ideas for contemporary research and applications aimed at understanding and enhancing children, families, and the systemic relationships among them.
Bringing Agriculture Back In: The Central Place of Agrarian Change in RuralChina Studies
Authors: Zhang Qian Forrest , Oya Carlos , Ye Jingzhong
Published: June 2015

Since the mid‐2000s, rural development and politics inChina has entered a new phase that revolves around what the central government calls ‘agricultural modernization’. Transforming the once‐dominant smallholding, family‐based agriculture has become a focal point of the government's programme of rural rejuvenation, where a range of economic changes unleashed by urbanization and industrialization also converge. We argue that in this new context, agrarian change has become the key vantage point from which to study ruralChina. We review key contributions of the papers in this special issue and highlight their insights on rural differentiation, land politics and rural livelihoods. We discuss how studying the ‘Chinese path’ of agrarian transition can contribute to ongoing debates on key themes in agrarian studies, including both the agrarian questions of capital and of labour, and how agrarian political economy offers unique perspectives on the overall processes of capitalist development inChina.
Can Capitalist Farms Defeat Family Farms? The Dynamics of Capitalist Accumulation in Shrimp Aquaculture inSouthChina
Authors: Huang Yu
Published: June 2015

The low rate of full‐time agricultural employment inChina has tempted scholars to believe that capitalization does not necessarily lead to the trenchant effects of proletarianization. In this paper,Irefute this hypothesis by showing agri‐capital's move from ‘formal subsumption’ to ‘real subsumption’ in shrimp aquaculture. Previously, due to natural and social barriers, capital had squeezed farmers' value by monopolizing the upstream and downstream sectors of the commodity chain. However, in recent years, after several disease outbreaks that have forced family farmers to abandon their business, agri‐capital has finally accomplished ‘real subsumption’ by penetrating into the farming process. Following the rise of a nascent shrimp production base in Leizhou,GuangdongProvince, I explore how it accomplishes land transfer, technological control and labour supervision to outcompete family farms by capturing the high price of off‐season farming. This analysis helps us to understand the dynamics of class formation and the trajectory of proletarianization.
Social support, social conflict, and immigrant women's mental health in a Canadian context: a scoping review
Authors: Guruge S. , Thomson M. S. , George U. , Chaze F.
Published: June 2015

Accessible summary

Social support has positive and negative dimensions, each of which has been associated with mental health outcomes. Social networks can also serve as sources of distress and conflict.

This paper reviews journal articles published during the last 24 years to provide a consolidated summary of the role of social support and social conflict on immigrant women's mental health. The review reveals that social support can help immigrant women adjust to the new country, prevent depression and psychological distress, and access care and services. When social support is lacking or social networks act as a source of conflict, it can have negative effects on immigrant women's mental health.

It is crucial that interventions, programmes, and services incorporate strategies to both enhance social support as well as reduce social conflict, in order to improve mental health and well‐being of immigrant women.

Researchers have documented the protective role of social support and the harmful consequences of social conflict on physical and mental health. However, consolidated information about social support, social conflict, and mental health of immigrant women in Canada is not available. This scoping review examined literature from the last 24 years to understand how social support and social conflict affect the mental health of immigrant women in Canada. We searched MEDLINE, PsycINFO, CINAHL, Healthstar, and EMBASE for peer‐reviewed publications focusing on mental health among immigrant women in Canada. Thirty‐four articles that met our inclusion criteria were reviewed, and are summarized under the following four headings: settlement challenges and the need for social support; social support and mental health outcomes; social conflict and reciprocity; and social support, social conflict, and mental health service use. The results revealed that social support can have a positive effect on immigrant women's mental health and well‐being, and facilitate social inclusion and the use of health services. When social support is lacking or social networks act as a source of conflict, it can have negative effects on immigrant women's mental health. The results also highlighted the need for health services to be linguistically‐appropriate and culturally‐safe, and provide appropriate types of care and support in a timely manner in order to be helpful to immigrant women.
Context, Service Provision, and Reflections on Future Directions of Support for Individuals With Intellectual Disability in Singapore
Authors: Poon Kenneth K.
Published: June 2015

The author examined how individuals with intellectual disability (ID) are supported in Singapore and what are the needs for further service development. Service provision for individuals with disabilities in Singapore is broadly reflective of its changing needs as a developing nation. Disability service provision began in the pre‐World War II period and then advanced greatly during the last 20 years with the proliferation of early intervention and specialized programs for school‐aged children as well an expansion of adult‐focused supports. Social services are organized along the “Three Ps Model” (public, private, and people), involving a collaboration of nongovernmental organizations, the government, and the corporate sector. With respect to school‐age services, although a fairly comprehensive system has been put in place to support the education of students with disabilities, the system continues to evolve. The situation is more limited with respect to supports for adults. With Singapore reaching high levels of employment, there is an impetus for some individuals with ID to be part of the workforce; for those without work skills, day options for some include workshops and developmental activity centers. For parent carers, supports remain limited and there is a disparity between the goals outlined in the World Disability Report and currently available options for most adults and their families. Recommendations include studies to better understand the population of persons with ID and their needs, a reexamination of the diffused responsibility for disability‐related services within the government, and an evaluation of the way services are delivered by the voluntary sector.
Class I and II histone deacetylase expression in human chronic periodontitis gingival tissue
Authors: Cantley M. D. , Dharmapatni A. A. S. S. K. , Algate K. , Crotti T. N. , Bartold P. M. , Haynes D. R.
Published: June 2015

Background and Objective

Histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDACi) are being considered to treat chronic inflammatory diseases at low doses. Currently HDACi that are more specific are being developed to target particular HDACs; therefore, this study aimed to determine levels and distribution of class I and II HDAC in human gingival samples obtained from patients with chronic periodontitis.

Material and Methods

Gingival biopsies were obtained from patients with and without (mild inflammation, no bone loss) periodontitis. Total RNA was isolated for real‐time quantitative polymerase chain reaction to determine expression of HDACs 1–10. Immunohistochemistry was used to determine protein distribution of HDACs 1, 5, 8 and 9. Factor VIII, CD3 and tartrate resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP) were detected in serial sections to identify blood vessels, lymphocytes, pre‐osteoclasts and osteoclasts cells respectively. Tumour necrosis factor α (TNF‐α) expression was also assessed.

Results

mRNA for HDAC 1, 5, 8 and 9 were significantly upregulated in chronic periodontitis gingival tissues compared to non‐periodontitis samples (p < 0.05). Significantly higher HDAC 1 protein expression was observed in chronic periodontitis samples (p < 0.05), and was associated with CD3, TRAP and TNF‐α‐positive cells. HDAC 1, 5, 8 and 9 were expressed strongly by the factor VIII‐positive microvasculature in the chronic periodontitis gingival tissues.

Conclusions

HDAC 1, 5, 8 and 9 expression was higher in gingival tissues from patients with chronic periodontitis compared to non‐periodontitis samples. Results suggest that these HDACs could therefore be targeted with specific acting HDACi.
Feed Containing Novacq Improves Resilience of Black Tiger Shrimp, Penaeus Monodon, to Gill‐associated Virus‐induced Mortality
Authors: Sellars Melony J. , Rao Min , Polymeris Nick , Irvin Simon J. , Cowley Jeff A. , Preston Nigel P. , Glencross Brett D.
Published: June 2015

The ability of Novacq to improve resilience of black tiger shrimp, Penaeus monodon, to infection and mortality induced by gill‐associated virus (GAV) was investigated. Over a 26‐d period, shrimp were fed pellets with or without 10% Novacq. Following this, four replicate tanks, each containing 10 shrimp that had been fed either diet, were maintained as‐is, injected with saline or injected with GAV inoculum (i.e., 40 shrimp for each of the six groups). For shrimp (n = 20) in two of each group of four tanks, survival was monitored daily over 14 d and a pleopod was sampled from each shrimp on Days 0 and 14. For the other two tanks, a pleopod was sampled from each shrimp on Days 0, 3, 7, 10, and 14 to track changes in GAV loads over time. Survival was significantly higher (P < 0.05) from Day 7 onward among the group fed Novacq. GAV infection loads appeared to vary more between individuals in the Novacq diet cohort, but overall were not reduced significantly at any time points post‐challenge compared to shrimp tested from the Control diet cohort.
The cell wall amidase AmiB is essential for Pseudomonas aeruginosa cell division, drug resistance and viability
Authors: Yakhnina Anastasiya A. , McManus Heather R. , Bernhardt Thomas G.
Published: June 2015

The physiological function of cell wall amidases has been investigated in several proteobacterial species. In all cases, they have been implicated in the cleavage of cell wall material synthesized by the cytokinetic ring. Although typically non‐essential, this activity is critical for daughter cell separation and outer membrane invagination during division. In Escherichia coli, proteins with LytM domains also participate in cell separation by stimulating amidase activity. Here, we investigated the function of amidases and LytM proteins in the opportunistic pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa. In agreement with studies in other organisms, PaAmiB and three LytM proteins were found to play crucial roles in P. aeruginosa cell separation, envelope integrity and antibiotic resistance. Importantly, the phenotype of amidase‐defective P. aeruginosa cells also differed in informative ways from the E. coli paradigm; PaAmiB was found to be essential for viability and the successful completion of cell constriction. Our results thus reveal a key role for amidase activity in cytokinetic ring contraction. Furthermore, we show that the essential function of PaAmiB can be bypassed in mutants activated for a Cpx‐like envelope stress response, suggesting that this signaling system may elicit the repair of division machinery defects in addition to general envelope damage.
Autoregulation of ZEB2 expression for zearalenone production in Fusarium graminearum
Authors: Park Ae Ran , Son Hokyoung , Min Kyunghun , Park Jinseo , Goo Jae Hwan , Rhee Sangkee , Chae Suhn‐Kee , Lee Yin‐Won
Published: June 2015

Several Fusarium species produce the polyketide mycotoxin zearalenone (ZEA), a causative agent of hyperestrogenic syndrome in animals that is often found in F. graminearum–infected cereals in temperate regions. The ZEA biosynthetic cluster genes PKS4, PKS13, ZEB1 and ZEB2 encode a reducing polyketide synthase, a non‐reducing polyketide synthase, an isoamyl alcohol oxidase and a transcription factor respectively. In this study, the production of two isoforms (ZEB2L and ZEB2S) from the ZEB2 gene in F. graminearum via an alternative promoter was characterized. ZEB2L contains a basic leucine zipper (bZIP) DNA‐binding domain at the N‐terminus, whereas ZEB2S is an N‐terminally truncated form of ZEB2L that lacks the bZIP domain. Interestingly, ZEA triggers the induction of both ZEB2L and ZEB2S transcription. ZEB2L and ZEB2S interact with each other to form a heterodimer that regulates ZEA production by reducing the binding affinity of ZEB2L for the ZEB2L gene promoter. Our study provides insight into the autoregulation of ZEB2 expression by alternative promoter usage and a feedback loop during ZEA production; this regulatory mechanism is similar to that observed in higher eukaryotes.
Tacrolimus reduction with everolimus addition for calcineurin inhibitor‐induced arteriolopathy in kidney allografts
Authors: Miura Masayoshi , Higashiyama Hiroshi , Fukasawa Yuichiro , Itoh Yosuke , Tamaki Tohru
Published: June 2015

Aim

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of tacrolimus (TAC) reduction with everolimus (EVR) addition on the maintenance immunosuppression for the recipients with calcineurin inhibitor arteriolopathy (CNIA).

Methods

This retrospective study consisted of 13 kidney allograft recipients who were found to have CNIA on protocol biopsy specimens. The time of intervention was 9–89 months. All the patients were on TAC, mycophenolate mofetil (MMF). 9 of 13 were on steroid. EVR was added and TAC dose was reduced. MMF dose was not changed. Revaluation biopsy was taken 12 months after the intervention. TAC trough levels (TACC0, ng/mL), EVR trough levels (EVRC0, ng/mL), estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR, mL/min), and urine protein per creatinine (uP/Cr, g/g creatinine) were compared before and 1 year after intervention. Changes in pathological findings and adverse events were also reviewed.

Results

Aah scores improved in 5 patients. Aah scores did not change in the rest of the patients. No deterioration was observed. No improvement was seen in those with aah3. TACC0 reduced from 3.3 to 2.3. EVRC0 at revaluation was 4.1. eGFR improved from 44.3 to 49.8. uP/Cr slightly increased from 0.20 to 0.26. EVR was discontinued in 1 patient due to an adverse event. EVR dose was reduced in 5 patients due to adverse events.

Conclusion

TAC reduction with EVR addition improves CNIA histologically in selected cases.
Currently available useful immunohistochemical markers of renal pathology for the diagnosis of renal allograft rejection
Authors: Kanzaki Go , Shimizu Akira
Published: June 2015

Renal allograft dysfunction may be induced by various causes, including alloimmune rejection, viral infection, urinary tract obstruction, calcineurin inhibitor nephrotoxicity and/or recurrent renal disease. In order to determine the underlying cause, a renal biopsy is performed and the renal transplant pathology is diagnosed using the internationally consensus Banff classification. Although a progressive understanding of allograft rejection has provided numerous immunohistochemical markers, only the C4d is regarded to be a sufficiently useful marker for antibody‐mediated allograft rejection according to the Banff classification. This review summarizes currently available useful immunohistochemical markers of renal transplant pathology, including C4d, with diagnostic implications for human renal allograft rejection. In particular, we discuss immunohistochemical markers in the following three categories: immunohistochemical markers of renal pathology used to (i) analyze the mechanisms of alloimmune rejection, (ii) monitor cell injury and/or inflammation associated with rejection and (iii) identify renal components in order to improve the diagnosis of rejection. In addition, recent progress in the field of renal transplant pathology includes the development of a new method for assessing molecular pathology using OMICS analyses. As the recent findings of various studies in patients undergoing renal transplantation are very encouraging, novel immunohistochemical markers must be also developed and combined with new technologies for the diagnosis of human renal allograft rejection.
Temporal serum creatinine increase and exacerbation of tubulointerstitial inflammation during the first two months in resolving polyomavirus BK nephropathy
Authors: Masutani Kosuke , Tsuchimoto Akihiro , Matsukuma Yuta , Kurihara Kei , Nishiki Takehiro , Kitada Hidehisa , Tanaka Masao , Kitazono Takanari , Tsuruya Kazuhiko
Published: June 2015

Aim

Polyomavirus BK nephropathy (BKVN) is an important complication in kidney transplantation. After immunosuppressive agents are reduced, some patients experience a temporal increase in serum creatinine (sCr) before viral clearance. The histological characteristics of re‐biopsies were therefore investigated to evaluate the time course of remission.

Methods

sCr was measured and urinary cytology evaluated periodically in 14 patients with biopsy‐proven BKVN. Remission of BKVN was defined as re‐biopsies negative for SV40 large T antigen (SV40‐TAg) or for decoy cells on at least three consecutive cytology tests. Early changes in sCr were correlated with re‐biopsy findings.

Results

Mean sCr was 1.6 ± 0.6 mg/dL at diagnosis, increasing during the first 2 months to 2.6 ± 2.0 mg/dL, and decreasing thereafter, to 2.3 ± 1.2 mg/dL at 3–4 months. Two patients who experienced further increases in sCr at 3 months showed early graft loss, while the others showed clinical or histological remission. Nineteen re‐biopsies were obtained from eight patients over 4 months. Banff i‐scores were higher in re‐biopsies obtained during the first 2 months than the index biopsies and re‐biopsies at 2–4 months (P = 0.02). SV40‐TAg positivity was common in re‐biopsies during the first 2 months (10/11 biopsies), but rarer at 2–4 months (2/8 biopsies, P = 0.001).

Conclusions

Temporal graft dysfunction and increased inflammation, called immune reconstitution, were observed at 2 months. Later sCr reversal is associated with remission.
Probable C4d‐negative accelerated acute antibody‐mediated rejection due to non‐HLA antibodies
Authors: Niikura Takahito , Yamamoto Izumi , Nakada Yasuyuki , Kamejima Sahoko , Katsumata Haruki , Yamakawa Takafumi , Furuya Maiko , Mafune Aki , Kobayashi Akimitsu , Tanno Yudo , Miki Jun , Yamada Hiroki , Ohkido Ichiro , Tsuboi Nobuo , Yamamoto Hiroyasu , Yokoo Takashi
Published: June 2015

We report a case of probable C4d‐negative accelerated acute antibody‐mediated rejection due to non‐HLA antibodies. A 44 year‐old male was admitted to our hospital for a kidney transplant. The donor, his wife, was an ABO minor mismatch (blood type O to A) and had Gitelman syndrome. Graft function was delayed; his serum creatinine level was 10.1 mg/dL at 3 days after transplantation. Open biopsy was performed immediately; no venous thrombosis was observed during surgery. Histology revealed moderate peritubular capillaritis and mild glomerulitis without C4d immunoreactivity. Flow cytometric crossmatching was positive, but no panel‐reactive antibodies against HLA or donor‐specific antibodies (DSAbs) to major histocompatibility complex class I‐related chain A (MICA) were detected. Taken together, we diagnosed him with probable C4d‐negative accelerated antibody‐mediated rejection due to non‐HLA, non‐MICA antibodies, the patient was treated with steroid pulse therapy (methylprednisolone 500 mg/day for 3 days), plasma exchange, intravenous immunoglobulin (40 g/body), and rituximab (200 mg/body) were performed. Biopsy at 58 days after transplantation, at which time S‐Cr levels were 1.56 mg/dL, found no evidence of rejection. This case, presented with a review of relevant literature, demonstrates that probable C4d‐negative accelerated acute AMR can result from non‐HLA antibodies.
A suspected case of plasma cell‐rich acute renal transplant rejection associated with de novo donor‐specific antibody
Authors: Yoshikawa Mikiko , Kitamura Ken , Ishimura Takeshi , Hara Shigeo , Fujisawa Masato , Nishi Shinichi
Published: June 2015

A kidney transplant case with de novo donor‐specific antibody showed monoclonal plasma cell infiltration into the graft with ABO incompatibility. Three years after transplantation, the patient's graft function suddenly deteriorated. Interstitial edema and the predominant infiltration of inflammatory plasma cells with kappa chain monoclonality were observed in biopsy specimens. The in situ hybridization of Epstein–Barr virus was negative and post‐transplant lymphoproliferative disorder was not evident from radiological examinations. On laboratory examination, the patient had de novo donor‐specific antibody for HLA‐DQ. We suspected plasma cell‐rich acute rejection for which methylprednisolone pulse therapy, plasma exchange, rituximab, and 15‐deoxyspergualin were given. In the ensuing biopsy, the degree of plasma cell infiltration was similar to the first biopsy; however, kappa chain monoclonality relatively weakened. Owing to resistance to these treatments, intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) (0.5 g/kg/day) was added. The serum creatinine level gradually declined to 3.1 mg/dL; however, it increased up to 3.6 mg/dL again. In the final biopsy, the infiltrated plasma cells disappeared but severe interstitial fibrosis developed. This case showed difficulty in the diagnosis and treatment of plasma cell‐rich acute rejection. A detailed consideration of this case may be helpful in understanding the clinical features and pathogenesis of this condition.
The impact of C4d‐negative acute antibody‐mediated rejection on short‐term prognosis among kidney transplant recipients
Authors: Sai Keiko , Omoto Kazuya , Shimizu Tomokazu , Honda Kazuho , Tanabe Kazunari
Published: June 2015

Aim

We aimed to investigate the clinical and pathological features of C4d‐negative acute antibody‐mediated rejection (aAMR), and examined the impact of C4d‐negative aAMR on short‐term prognosis.

Methods

From 2005 to 2011, 626 kidney transplantations were performed in our institution and related hospitals. We excluded 174 ABO‐incompatible transplantations, and analysed clinical and pathological data from the remaining 452 until December 2013.

Results

During the follow‐up period, 39 patients underwent aAMR. We divided them into two groups. According to C4d positivity in each patient's first AMR, we divided the cohort into a C4d‐positive aAMR group and a C4d‐negative aAMR group, using the new Banff 2013 classification. We compared each aAMR patient's features to controls. Clinical and pathological characteristics were similar in both groups and the short‐term outcomes of the two groups were similar, but both were worse than control.

Conclusion

C4d‐negative aAMR resembles C4d‐positive aAMR in terms of clinical and pathological features, and that C4d positivity has no influence on short‐term outcome.
Ezrin contributes to impaired podocyte migration and adhesion caused by advanced glycation end products
Authors: McRobert Elizabeth Anne , Bach Leon A
Published: June 2015

Aim

Podocytes are specialized epithelial cells that play a critical role in the glomerular filtration barrier. Podocyte abnormalities are linked to increasing albuminuria and progression to end‐stage renal failure as observed in diabetic nephropathy. Advanced glycation end products (AGEs) have been strongly linked to the development of diabetic nephropathy, and we have previously shown that AGEs inhibit ezrin actions in proximal tubule cells. As ezrin plays a key role in controlling podocyte foot process integrity, the present study investigated the contribution of ezrin to AGE‐induced podocyte damage.

Methods

Conditionally immortalized human podocytes were cultured with or without AGEs, and changes in morphology, protein expression and cell function were analyzed.

Results

Fully differentiated podocytes had long finger‐like protrusions forming slit diaphragm structures. Immunofluorescence showed ezrin is mainly localized to the cell membrane with intense fluorescence on cellular protrusions. After AGE‐BSA treatment for 6 days, podocytes were rounder with fewer protrusions. Western blotting showed a time‐dependent reduction in ezrin levels compared with BSA‐treated cells. AGE‐BSA treatment reduced podocyte adhesion to fibronectin and inhibited migration. Overexpression of ezrin completely reversed AGE‐BSA inhibition of podocyte adhesion to fibronectin and partially reversed AGE‐induced inhibition of migration.

Conclusion

These results show a role for ezrin in AGE‐induced podocyte damage and suggest a new avenue for possible therapeutic intervention in diabetic nephropathy.
Metabolomic profiling and genomic analysis of wheat aneuploid lines to identify genes controlling biochemical pathways in mature grain
Authors: Francki Michael G. , Hayton Sarah , Gummer Joel P. A. , Rawlinson Catherine , Trengove Robert D.
Published: June 2015

Metabolomics is becoming an increasingly important tool in plant genomics to decipher the function of genes controlling biochemical pathways responsible for trait variation. Although theoretical models can integrate genes and metabolites for trait variation, biological networks require validation using appropriate experimental genetic systems. In this study, we applied an untargeted metabolite analysis to mature grain of wheat homoeologous group 3 ditelosomic lines, selected compounds that showed significant variation between wheat lines Chinese Spring and at least one ditelosomic line, tracked the genes encoding enzymes of their biochemical pathway using the wheat genome survey sequence and determined the genetic components underlying metabolite variation. A total of 412 analytes were resolved in the wheat grain metabolome, and principal component analysis indicated significant differences in metabolite profiles between Chinese Spring and each ditelosomic lines. The grain metabolome identified 55 compounds positively matched against a mass spectral library where the majority showed significant differences between Chinese Spring and at least one ditelosomic line. Trehalose and branched‐chain amino acids were selected for detailed investigation, and it was expected that if genes encoding enzymes directly related to their biochemical pathways were located on homoeologous group 3 chromosomes, then corresponding ditelosomic lines would have a significant reduction in metabolites compared with Chinese Spring. Although a proportion showed a reduction, some lines showed significant increases in metabolites, indicating that genes directly and indirectly involved in biosynthetic pathways likely regulate the metabolome. Therefore, this study demonstrated that wheat aneuploid lines are suitable experimental genetic system to validate metabolomics–genomics networks.
The enigma of effective path length for 18O enrichment in leaf water of conifers
Authors: Roden John , Kahmen Ansgar , Buchmann Nina , Siegwolf Rolf
Published: June 2015

The Péclet correction is often used to predict leaf evaporative enrichment and requires an estimate of effective path length (L). Studies to estimate L in conifer needles have produced unexpected patterns based on Péclet theory and leaf anatomy. We exposed seedlings of six conifer species to different vapour pressure deficits (VPD) in controlled climate chambers to produce steady‐state leaf water enrichment (in 18O). We measured leaf gas exchange, stable oxygen isotopic composition (δ18O) of input and plant waters as well as leaf anatomical characteristics. Variation in bulk needle water δ18O was strongly related to VPD. Conifer needles had large amounts of water within the vascular strand that was potentially unenriched (up to 40%). Both standard Craig–Gordon and Péclet models failed to accurately predict conifer leaf water δ18O without taking into consideration the unenriched water in the vascular strand and variable L. Although L was linearly related to mesophyll thickness, large within‐species variation prevented the development of generalizations that could allow a broader use of the Péclet effect in predictive models. Our results point to the importance of within needle water pools and isolating mechanisms that need further investigation in order to integrate Péclet corrections with ‘two compartment’ leaf water concepts.
Social Marketing Risk‐Framing Approaches for Dental Sealants in Rural American Indian Children
Authors: Larsson Laura S. , Champine Dorothy , Hoyt Dee , Lin Lillian , Salois Emily , Silvas Sharon , Tail Terri Weasel , Williams Matthew
Published: June 2015

Objective

To compare three variants of a culturally relevant and theoretically based message to determine the most influential risk‐framing approach for improving intention to place dental sealants for preschool children.

Design and Sample

A convenience sample of adult, American Indian participants (n = 89) attending a community health fair were assigned to view a gain‐framed, loss‐framed, or mix‐framed dental sealant message.

Measures

We compared participants' scores on a 46‐item survey to determine the relative effect of the frame assignment on seven indices of behavior change.

Results

The mean difference in participants' stage‐of‐change scores (x = 1.17, n = 89, SD = 1.90) demonstrated a significant improvement for all groups after watching the dental sealant message t88 = 5.81, p < .0001, 95% CI [0.77–1.57]. Self‐efficacy was the only construct for which we detected a statistically significant difference as a function of frame assignment. Overall, the mix‐framed message resulted in the highest scores. The gain‐framed message was the least influential on four constructs. This finding is in contrast to findings that gain‐framed oral health messages are most influential (Gallagher & Updegraff, 2012; O'Keefe & Jensen, 2007).

Conclusions

Community advisory board members determined to use the mix‐framed approach in an oral health social marketing campaign with a rural, American Indian audience.
Model Selection Criterion Based on the Multivariate Quasi‐Likelihood for Generalized Estimating Equations
Authors: Imori Shinpei
Published: June 2015

The generalized estimating equations (GEE) approach has attracted considerable interest for the analysis of correlated response data. This paper considers the model selection criterion based on the multivariate quasi‐likelihood (MQL) in the GEE framework. The GEE approach is closely related to the MQL. We derive a necessary and sufficient condition for the uniqueness of the risk function based on the MQL by using properties of differential geometry. Furthermore, we establish a formal derivation of model selection criterion as an asymptotically unbiased estimator of the prediction risk under this condition, and we explicitly take into account the effect of estimating the correlation matrix used in the GEE procedure.
Stages of the Social Construction of Skill: Revisiting Debates over Service Skill Recognition
Authors: Hampson Ian , Junor Anne
Published: June 2015

This article reprises debates over ‘the social construction of skill’ (SCS), in the context of the rise of a service economy, and a diminished capacity for collective worker protection of job quality. After exploring the changed conceptual terrain in which the concept of SCS is deployed, it puts the case for recognising under‐documented skills in service jobs. It argues that real (because based on learning) but hitherto uncodified skills are beginning to be mapped in a corpus of interpretative research. A fieldwork‐based conceptual framework is offered for more fully codifying these skills. Such codification may give employers a handle for increased behavioural control, but may also help workers gain recognition and reward for real skills. We identify ‘stages of social construction’: first, skills' ‘detection’ and naming in job‐analysis interviews and second, skills recognition in qualifications and job/person descriptions. Increased remuneration and/or work reorganisation through political–institutional processes, driven by the agency of unions and professional organisations, HR departments or even management itself, may follow. The politics of the concepts' development (or not) in academic and policy communities – another facet of the SCS – we eschew here.
Poland's Contentious Elites Enter the Age of Revolution: Extending Social Movement Concepts
Authors: Konieczny Piotr , Markoff John
Published: June 2015

Scholars of social movements commonly call for the field to be broadened in various ways because movements are often intertwined with other forms of conflict and because the causes or consequences of movements may operate differently in different contexts. Important change processes that were unfolding in Poland at the time of the French Revolution provide an instructive case. Although the contemporaneous French Revolution, with its enormous quantity and variety of collective mobilizations has been a touchstone for social movement scholars, the work of Poland's reform parliament and the adoption of Poland's 1791 constitution have gotten much less attention. Poland's reform politics not only provides both instructive parallels to and differences from French revolutionary developments, but were also deeply intertwined with them and embedded with those French events in a larger, European field of contention. Perhaps one of the most intriguing aspects of the Polish reform movement is that it was largely driven by elites, something noted in Karl Marx's bemused praise. Although social movements played very much less of a role in Poland than in France, we try to show here that familiar tools of social movement analysis permit an account of those Polish events as well.
Priming Implicit Racism in Television News: Visual and Verbal Limitations on Diversity
Authors: Sonnett John , Johnson Kirk A. , Dolan Mark K.
Published: June 2015

We highlight an understudied aspect of racism in television news, implicit racial cues found in the contradictions between visual and verbal messages. We compare three television news broadcasts from the first week after Hurricane Katrina to reexamine race and representation during the disaster. Drawing together insights from interdisciplinary studies of cognition and sociological theories of race and racism, we examine how different combinations of the race of reporters and news sources relate to the priming of implicit racism. We find racial cues that are consistent with stereotypes and myths about African Americans—even in broadcasts featuring black reporters—but which appear only in the context of color‐blind verbal narration. We conclude by drawing attention to the unexpected and seemingly unintended reproduction of racial ideology.
Coverage of Veterans of the Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan in the U.S. Media
Authors: Kleykamp Meredith , Hipes Crosby
Published: June 2015

To evaluate how the media frames veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, this study systematically assesses the discourse on Iraq and Afghanistan veterans in the New York Times and Washington Post from 2003 to 2011. Our analysis of a stratified sample of 151 articles featuring veterans from either the wars in Iraq or Afghanistan finds that the media frames veterans as damaged by their service but deserving of government benefits and social assistance. When the media frames veterans as actively engaging in society, their social engagement is often because of or despite their injuries or mistreatment. We find interplay between victimization and deservingness such that depictions of the cohort as physically and mentally damaged complement and justify arguments for a sustained high level of benefits to accommodate the needs of veterans. We thus argue that generous benefits for veterans partly stem from their depiction as having suffered from their service.
Bargaining for Success: Examining the Relationship Between Teacher Unions and Student Achievement
Authors: Vachon Todd E. , Ma Josef (Kuo‐Hsun)
Published: June 2015

While many previous studies have identified a positive relationship between teachers unions and student achievement on standardized tests, little research to date has explored the channels through which unions might actually affect achievement. Utilizing multilevel random intercept models, we examine the effects of two categories of items commonly negotiated in teacher contracts—“industrial union” items and “professional union” items—on individual student math scores. Further, we assess the ability of these two clusters of variables to explain the positive union effect found in previous research. The results confirm that teachers unions are positively associated with student achievement and suggest that the industrial model explains moderately more of the union effect than the professional model; however, only the combination of both models is capable of reducing the union effect to nonsignificance. These findings are also confirmed in a supplemental analysis utilizing instrumental variables to account for the possibility of endogeneity. Finally, a decomposition of the union effect suggests that teachers unions are most beneficial to middle‐ and high‐achieving students. We conclude that through industrial and professional bargaining, teachers are able to secure higher salaries, credentialing, and greater autonomy which lead to improved student achievement.
Efficacy of the Mirasol pathogen reduction technology system against severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus (SFTSV)
Authors: Shinohara N. , Matsumoto C. , Chatani M. , Uchida S. , Yoshikawa T. , Shimojima M. , Satake M. , Tadokoro K.
Published: June 2015

Severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus (SFTSV) is a tickborne virus in the Bunyaviridae family. This virus has recently been found in China, Japan and Korea. The risk of transfusion‐transmitted SFTSV infection (TTI‐SFTSV) is a concern because person‐to‐person transmission resulting from contact with SFTSV‐contaminated blood has been reported. Therefore, we investigated the efficacy of the Mirasol pathogen reduction technology (PRT) system for inactivating SFTSV in vitro. The Mirasol PRT system achieved a > 4·11 log10 reduction value (LRV) for SFTSV. In conclusion, we showed that the Mirasol PRT system could potentially be used to reduce the risk of TTI‐SFTSV.
Coordinated Control of Autonomous Four Wheel Drive Electric Vehicles for Platooning and Trajectory Tracking Using a Hierarchical Architecture
Authors: Guo Jinghua , Li Keqiang , Luo Yugong
Published: June 2015

This paper presents a systematic method on how to design the coordinated lateral and longitudinal motion control system of autonomous four wheel drive (4WD) electric vehicles for platooning and trajectory tracking. First, mathematical models that perfectly describe the behaviors of autonomous 4WD vehicles are built-up, and the coupled effects in vehicle dynamic systems are given. Second, owing to the fact that autonomous vehicles are large-scale systems with strong coupling, nonlinearities, and uncertainties, a novel multi-objective hierarchical architecture used for coordinated lateral and longitudinal motion control is constructed, which is composed of a global cooperative control layer, a control allocation layer, and an action execution layer. A robust backstepping sliding mode controller (RBSMC) is presented in the cooperative control layer to provide the resultant forces/moment. The control allocation layer is designed using interior-point (IP) algorithm to determine the tire lateral and longitudinal forces, which result in the desired resultant forces/moment. The action execution layer consists of an inverse tire model, a slip ratio regulator for each wheel, and a slip angle regulator. Finally, simulation experiments are carried out under adverse driving conditions, and the results show that the proposed control architecture not only possesses excellent tracking performance but also enhances the riding comfort, stability, and safety of autonomous 4WD electric vehicles.
Flow Control on a Transport Truck Side Mirror Using Plasma Actuators
Authors: Michelis Theodoros , Kotsonis Marios
Published: June 2015

A wind tunnel study is conducted toward hybrid flow control of a full scale transport truck side mirror at ReD=3.2×105. A slim guide vane is employed for redirecting high-momentum flow toward the mirror wake region. Leading edge separation from the guide vane is reduced or eliminated by means of an alternating current -dielectric barrier discharge (AC-DBD) plasma actuator. Particle image velocimetry (PIV) measurements are performed at a range of velocities from 15 to 25 m/s and from windward to leeward angles from -5deg to 5deg. Time-averaged velocity fields are obtained at the center of the mirror for three scenarios: (a) reference case lacking any control elements, (b) guide vane only, and (c) combination of the guide vane and the AC-DBD plasma actuator. The comparison of cases demonstrates that at 25 m/s windward conditions (-5deg) the guide vane is capable of recovering 17% momentum with respect to the reference case. No significant change is observed by activating the AC-DBD plasma actuator. In contrast, at leeward conditions (5deg), the guide vane results in a −20% momentum loss that is rectified to a 6% recovery with actuation. The above implies that for a truck with two mirrors, 23% of momentum may be recovered.
Study on Knock Characteristics of Dimethyl Ether Fueled Homogenous Charge Compression Ignition-Direct Injection Combustion Engines
Authors: Hou Junxing , Wen Zhenhua , Liu Jianwei , Jiang Zhiqiang
Published: June 2015

A two-cylinder diesel engine was modified for a dimethyl ether (DME) homogeneous charge compression ignition (HCCI)-direct injection (DI) engine. Knock characteristics are investigated based on in-cylinder pressure signals. The in-cylinder pressure is decomposed into four levels using discrete wavelet transform (DWT). The maximum pressure amplitudes and wavelet energy at four levels are approximately equal in normal combustion. With knock, both the maximum pressure amplitude and wavelet energy at the third level are the greatest. The correlation analysis shows that the correlation coefficients for maximum pressure amplitude and wavelet energy are quite valid for the second and third levels. It indicates that the correlation is stronger at frequencies which belong to resonant frequencies. The wavelet energy has slightly better performance than maximum pressure amplitude for identification of knock.