bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Evaluation of human papilloma virus communicative education strategies: A pilot screening study for cervical cancer
Authors: Barrera-Clavijo Lizeth K , Wiesner-Ceballos Carolina , Rincón-Martínez Lina M
Published: September 2015

Background:

High-risk human papilloma virus (HR-HPV) is highly prevalent in sexually active men and women; HR-HPV has been classified as a sexually transmitted infection (STI) and as a necessary, but not sufficient, causal agent for cervical cancer. Women who test positive for HPV often experience serious psychosocial consequences such as fear, shame, fatalism and stigmatisation, as the result of popular perceptions of questionable moral and sexual conduct. To improve this situation, public health sector HPV communication and education strategies need to be improved.

Objective:

To evaluate the HPV communicative education strategies used in a pilot study for cervical cancer screening in Colombia using the HPV DNA test.

Methodology:

Analytic, qualitative research involving 10 focus groups (FGs) with women 30–65 years of age, grouped according to their test results (positive or negative) and age (younger or older than 50 years). Women participated in HPV communication and educational activities which included radio announcements, cartoon novel story books, flip charts and face-to-face communication. Content analysis of FGs discussions was conducted.

Results:

After participating in HPV communication and education activities, women were unable to differentiate clearly between infection and disease. HPV-negative women classified HPV as dangerous, primarily due to the vaccine communication strategies. The most remembered media were the cartoon novel story books, from which women were able to recall more details about the love story content than about the natural history of HPV. HPV-positive women felt afraid and fatalistic regarding their own HPV infection; face-to-face communication alleviated their anxiety and helped them recognise an HPV-positive report as good news.

Conclusion:

High-quality HPV vaccine communication strategies need to be implemented alongside screening messages. Face-to-face communication proved to be the most effective strategy for reducing the burden of stigmatisation among HPV-positive women, but timing is an essential component of communication.
The moral work of subversion
Authors: Bloom Peter N , White Paul J
Published: September 2015

This article critically reconsiders dominant understandings of morality and subversion within organizations. Existing organizational literature does not adequately address the important productive role of morality for producing and justifying everyday subversive practices as well as the use of subversion to legitimate power relations and dominant values. Drawing upon interactionist insights, we develop a practice-based account of morality, highlighting the means through which subversion retroactively legitimates the diverse range of actions performed by organizational subjects. This form of retrospective reasoning, which we term ‘moralization’, serves as an important resource for subjects to actively negotiate the often competing moral and practical demands placed on them as organizational subjects. Consequently, we position subversion as an important means of accomplishing, legitimating and preserving a given organizational order, rather than a ‘common sense’ view that subversion necessarily subverts organizational values. In doing so, we make explicit the ‘positive’ function of rule-bending for processes of organizational control.
An anatomy of automatism
Authors: Mackay RD
Published: September 2015

The automatism defence has been described as a quagmire of law and as presenting an intractable problem. Why is this so? This paper will analyse and explore the current legal position on automatism. In so doing, it will identify the problems which the case law has created, including the distinction between sane and insane automatism and the status of the ‘external factor doctrine’, and comment briefly on recent reform proposals.
Reforming automatism and insanity: Neuroscience and claims of lack of capacity for control
Authors: Claydon Lisa
Published: September 2015

This paper examines some of the issues raised by the current criminal law defence of automatism and the related defence of insane automatism, and considers what neuroscience may contribute to the reform discussion. It also considers some of the claims made in relation to the impact of neuroimaging in the courtroom. It examines an American medical case report in which an individual’s criminal behaviour is linked to a brain tumour, and considers how the reformed law as presented in the Law Commission for England and Wales’ Discussion Paper might treat such claims. It concludes by examining what assistance the law may gain from a deeper understanding of how a sense of agency emerges from brain states, and the implications of this scientific knowledge for the reform of the law.
Simulating individual, group, and crowd behaviors in building egress
Authors: Chu Mei Ling , Parigi Paolo , Law Kincho H , Latombe Jean-Claude
Published: September 2015

Studies of past emergency events have revealed that occupants’ behaviors, local geometry, and environmental constraints affect crowd movement and evacuation. Design of egress systems should take into consideration the social characteristics of the occupants and the unique layout of the buildings. This paper describes an agent-based egress simulation tool, SAFEgress, which is designed to incorporate human and social behaviors during evacuations. The unique feature of SAFEgress is its flexibility to model different individual, group, and crowd behavior. Simulations are conducted to examine egress performance of a museum floor plan for three scenarios: (1) expected occupancy load during peak hours; (2) group behaviors among museum visitors; and (3) measures to reduce pre-evacuation delay. By assuming different occupants’ behaviors in the simulations, engineers, designers, and facility managers can study the important human and social factors on an egress situation and, thereby, improve the design of safe egress systems and procedures.
Constructing a ‘great’ role for Britain in an age of austerity: Interpreting coalition foreign policy, 2010–2015
Authors: Daddow Oliver
Published: September 2015

This article interprets the ideational underpinnings of the British Conservative–Liberal coalition government’s foreign policy from 2010 to 2015. It uses qualitative discourse analysis of speeches, statements and policy documents to unpack the traditions of foreign policy thought which informed some of the key foreign policy practices of the coalition government. The analysis centres on the British identity constructed by liberal Conservatives, and the values and interests flowing from this baseline identity that the government’s foreign policy sought to express through its foreign policy. Liberal Conservative foreign policy is argued to have been an attempt to come to terms with the limits on Britain’s international agency in the face of three major foreign policy dilemmas: the legacy of the New Labour years, dramatically reduced economic resources in the ‘age of austerity’ and an increasingly restricted capacity for Britain to exercise ideational entrepreneurship in the international community. The article substantiates the claim in the extant literature that liberal Conservatism significantly adapted but did not restructure an established British foreign policy tradition of merging values and interests in complex ways.
Message Formats, Numeracy, Risk Perceptions of Alcohol-Attributable Cancer, and Intentions for Binge Drinking Among College Students
Authors: Chen Yixin , Yang Z. Janet
Published: September 2015

We conducted an experiment to examine whether risk perceptions of alcohol-attributable cancer influence college students’ binge-drinking intention and to explore how message formats (text, table, and graph) and numeracy influence risk perceptions of alcohol-attributable cancer. We found that a majority of participants (87%) perceive some risks of alcohol-attributable cancer. Risk messages in tabular and graphic formats are more effective in elevating risk perceptions, but there is no significant difference between these two formats. Numeracy and its interaction with message formats, however, do not predict risk perceptions. We recommend risk messages should be delivered using tabular or graphic formats to enhance risk perceptions. We also advocate the less-is-more principle in presenting risk information.
Withdrawing from atmosphere: An ontology of air partitioning and affective engineering
Authors: Philippopoulos-Mihalopoulos Andreas
Published: September 2015

The main objective of this text is to warn against atmospherics. However comfortable it might appear, an atmosphere is politically suspicious because it numbs a body into an affective embrace of stability and permanence. It becomes doubly suspicious because a body desires to be part of the atmosphere. For this reason, I rethink both affect and atmosphere ontologically rather than phenomenologically. I argue that an atmosphere is engineered by subsuming individual affects to what I call, following Sloterdijk, an atmospheric glasshouse. I suggest that this happens in four steps: a distinction between inside and outside through partitioning; inclusion of the outside inside; illusion of synthesis; and dissimulation. In order to do this, I begin with air as the elemental paradox of ontological continuum and rupture. I carry on with the passage from air to atmosphere while retaining the discourse around continuum and rupture. Finally, I indicate a way of rupturing the atmospheric continuum through the ontological movement of withdrawal from the atmosphere. The ultimate goal of the article is to sketch a problematic of atmospherics that puts together without synthesising an elemental ontology of continuum and rupture.
Successfully treated severe obstetric sepsis and acute respiratory distress syndrome with extracorporeal membrane oxygenation
Authors: Benetis Rimantas , Nadisauskiene Ruta , Sirvinskas Edmundas , Lenkutis Tadas , Siudikas Adakrius , Kadusauskaitė Vytaute , Railaitė Dalia , Sukovas Arturas , Abraitis Vytautas
Published: September 2015

We report a unique clinical case about an 18-year-old woman, immediately post-partum after an urgent C-section, who survived severe sepsis, acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) and was successfully treated with 11 different antibiotics, massive blood transfusions and repetitive surgeries and was on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) support for 22 days. Although, ECMO is a time-limited procedure and most manufacturers do not advise more than 14 days of use,1 the situation for this patient was life-threatening and ECMO, despite the dangerous risks listed above, was the only way to win time for the lungs to recover and for treatment of the underlying disease, while maintaining adequate oxygenation and circulation. Fortunately, the condition of this woman was stabilized and she achieved complete physical recovery, despite minor neurological deficit in the fingers of her right hand.
A systematic review of the evidence on home care reablement services
Authors: Legg Lynn , Gladman John , Drummond Avril , Davidson Alex
Published: September 2015

Objective:

To determine whether publically funded ‘reablement services’ have any effect on patient health or use of services.

Design:

Systematic review of randomized controlled trials and non-randomized studies in which reablement interventions were compared with no care or usual care in people referred to public-funded personal care services. Data sources included: Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, EPOC register of studies, trials registers, Medline, EMBASE, and CINHAL. Searches were from 2000 up to end February 2015.

Setting:

Not applicable.

Participants:

Investigators’ definition of the target population for reablement interventions.

Main outcome measures:

Use of publically funded personal care services and dependence in personal activities of daily living.

Results:

We found no studies fulfilling our inclusion criteria that assessed the effectiveness of reablement interventions. We did note the lack of an agreed understanding of the nature of reablement.

Conclusions:

Reablement is an ill-defined intervention targeted towards an ill-defined and potentially highly heterogeneous population/patient group. There is no evidence to suggest it is effective at either of its goals; increasing personal independence or reducing use of personal care services.
Effects of an In-Service Training Program Using the Routines-Based Interview
Authors: Boavida Tânia , Aguiar Cecília , McWilliam R. A. , Correia Nadine
Published: September 2015

The focus of this study is an in-service training program rooted in routines-based early intervention and designed to improve the quality of goals and objectives on individualized plans. Participants were local intervention team members and other professionals who worked closely with each team. This training program involved a small number of trainees per group, providing multiple learning experiences across time and various opportunities for self-assessment and monitoring. We investigated (a) the perceptions of the participants about the strengths and weaknesses of the training program, (b) medium-term outcomes of the training with a comparison group, (c) and variables associated with the quality of goals and objectives. This study involved training more than 200 professionals, and results support the effectiveness of the program in improving the quality of goals and objectives, showing the importance of the routines-based interview in producing that improvement.
Seasonality of Marriages in the Sajkaska Region (North Serbia), 1869 to 2011
Authors: Arsenović Daniela , Djurdjev Branislav , Pajtić Bojan , Marinković Draško , Ivanović-Bibić Ljubica
Published: September 2015

This article studies monthly distribution of marriages in Sajkaska region (North Serbia) for the period 1869 to 2011. The data were derived from 64,175 marriages that are found in marriage registers. For the purpose of the analysis, the entire period is divided into seven smaller periods. The main finding of this article is that seasonality of marriage changed along with the system of production. Also, adherence of religion played an important role in the past. At the beginning of the period of our analysis, the region was inhabited by families practicing an inefficient extensive agriculture, and seasonality of marriage was highly present: in only two months (November and October), more than a half of all marriages were concluded. In the second part of the twentieth century, the share of agricultural population decreased and the seasonal pattern of marriage changed.
The Problem of Juvenile Crime and the Making of Criminal Law in Finland, 1862–1889
Authors: Harrikari Timo
Published: September 2015

This article describes procedures leading to the establishing of the Finnish Criminal Law of 1889 and, more particularly, discusses the changing interpretations of and societal reactions to juvenile crime as part of governing the minors. Legislation—including a specific understanding of juvenile crime as moral depravity—was finally provided as the interplay between the different mechanisms of social activity. Legislation was passed through when the conditions on all the essential levels of historical time turned favorable, forming a certain type of complex in governing juvenile crime.
Five Strategies Internet Writers Use to “Continue the Conversation”
Authors: Gallagher John R.
Published: September 2015

This article investigates the strategies web-writers develop when their audiences respond to them via textual participation. Focusing on three web-writers who want to “continue the conversation,” this article identifies five major strategies to accomplish this aim: (a) editing after production, (b) quotation, (c) question posing, (d) naming secondary writers, and (e) textual listening. Using the lens of writer-audience tension, I find that due to these web-writers’ perceptions of audience, one that is partially externalized via the website’s template, the term audience itself may not be a discrete concept, but a fluid, evolving, and recursive one, in other words, ongoing. These perceptions of audience reflect the unending nature of online texts and are exemplified by these five strategies.
Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma
Authors: Hennika Tammy , Becher Oren J.
Published: September 2015

Diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma is a lethal brain cancer that arises in the pons of children. The median survival for children with diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma is less than 1 year from diagnosis, and no improvement in survival has been realized in more than 30 years. Currently, the standard of care for diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma is focal radiation therapy, which provides only temporary relief. Recent genomic analysis of tumors from biopsies and autopsies, have resulted in the discovery of K27M H3.3/H3.1 mutations in 80% and ACVR1 mutations in 25% of diffuse intrinsic pontine gliomas, providing renewed hope for future success in identifying effective therapies. In addition, as stereotactic tumor biopsies at diagnosis at specialized centers have been demonstrated to be safe, biopsies have now been incorporated into several prospective clinical trials. This article summarizes the epidemiology, clinical presentation, diagnosis, prognosis, molecular genetics, current treatment, and future therapeutic directions for diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma.
Feminism, interrupted? Gender and development in the era of ‘Smart Economics’
Authors: Calkin Sydney
Published: September 2015

This article assesses feminist accounts of co-optation and appropriation in gender and development policy. Today women and girls are the public faces of anti-poverty policy and occupy an important position in the development discourse; however, the ambiguities of the neoliberal gender agenda have provoked an ongoing debate about the extent to which feminist aims and language have been and de-politicized by mainstream institutions. Have feminist aims been co-opted to legitimize anti-feminist policy goals, or does the current visibility of gender issues reflect the success of particular strands of (neo)liberal feminism? I explore these conflicting accounts by examining the current ‘Gender Equality as Smart Economics’ policy agenda, exploring its major themes and institutional form through a focus on two transnational business initiatives. The article concludes that, although accounts of feminism’s cooptation are flawed in their misrepresentation of a diverse and dynamic movement, the transformations wrought by neoliberal-compatible feminisms present troubling challenges for feminists concerned with intersectionality and the links between gender and economic justice.
Book review: Reid, Hannah. 2014: Climate Change and Human Development
Authors: Forsyth Tim
Published: September 2015

Reid, Hannah. 2014: Climate Change and Human Development. London: Zed Books. x + 287 pp. ISBN 918-2-78032-441-8 (hardback), 978-1-78032-440-1 (paperback). £80 (hardback), £21.99 (paperback).
Book review: Holden, Andrew. 2013: Tourism, Poverty and Development
Authors: Riungu Geoffrey K.
Published: September 2015

Holden, Andrew. 2013: Tourism, Poverty and Development. New York: Routledge. 216 pp. £74.86 hardback; £20.31 paperback; £25.64 ebk. ISBN: 978-0-415-56626-1 (hardback).
Getting to “Fair”
Authors: Cooper Cecily D. , Scandura Terri A.
Published: September 2015

The vast majority of justice studies reflect the “event paradigm,” focusing on how subordinates form fairness perceptions in discrete situations and how managers can alter perceptions of isolated events. However, subordinates also form global appraisals of their managers across specific events and situations. To augment the event paradigm, research falling within the “social entity paradigm” focuses on these general justice appraisals. To date, very little theory has been developed on managerial fairness from a social entity perspective. Little is known regarding how entity perceptions are formed (i.e., how managers come to be seen as “fair managers”). To address this issue, we integrate insights from research on identity negotiation into the organizational justice literature and propose that entity perceptions evolve over time across three types of events. This justice negotiation perspective is unique in that we emphasize the role of both managers and subordinates as actors in the process, rather than employees as passive observers of managers’ actions. We also move beyond subordinate perceptions to consider the role of manager self-perceptions of fairness.
Participant Satisfaction With a Preference-Setting Tool for the Return of Individual Research Results in Pediatric Genomic Research
Authors: Holm Ingrid A. , Iles Brittany R. , Ziniel Sonja I. , Bacon Phoebe L. , Savage Sarah K. , Christensen Kurt D. , Weitzman Elissa R. , Green Robert C. , Huntington Noelle L.
Published: September 2015

The perceived benefit of return of individual research results (IRRs) in accordance to participants’ preferences in genomic biobank research is unclear. We developed an online preference-setting tool for return of IRRs based on the preventability and severity of a condition, which included an opt-out option for IRRs for mental illness, developmental disorders, childhood-onset degenerative conditions, and adult-onset conditions. Parents of patients <18 years of age at Boston Children’s Hospital were randomized to the hypothetical scenario that their child was enrolled in one of four biobanks with different policies for IRRs to receive (a) “None,” (b) “All,” (c) “Binary”—choice to receive all or none, and (d) “Granular”—use the preference-setting tool to choose categories of IRRs. Parents were given a hypothetical IRRs report for their child. The survey was sent to 11,391 parents and completed by 2,718. The Granular group was the most satisfied with the process, biobank, and hypothetical IRRs received. The None group was least satisfied and least likely to agree that the biobank was beneficial ( p < .001). The response to the statement that the biobank was harmful was not different between groups. Our data suggest that the ability to designate preferences leads to greater satisfaction and may increase biobank participation.
Privacy and confidentiality in pragmatic clinical trials
Authors: McGraw Deven , Greene Sarah M , Miner Caroline S , Staman Karen L , Welch Mary Jane , Rubel Alan
Published: September 2015

With pragmatic clinical trials, an opportunity exists to answer important questions about the relative risks, burdens, and benefits of therapeutic interventions. However, concerns about protecting the privacy of this information are significant and must be balanced with the imperative to learn from the data gathered in routine clinical practice. Traditional privacy protections for research uses of identifiable information rely disproportionately on informed consent or authorizations, based on a presumption that this is necessary to fulfill ethical principles of respect for persons. But frequently, the ideal of informed consent is not realized in its implementation. Moreover, the principle of respect for persons—which encompasses their interests in health information privacy—can be honored through other mechanisms. Data anonymization also plays a role in protecting privacy but is not suitable for all research, particularly pragmatic clinical trials. In this article, we explore both the ethical foundation and regulatory framework intended to protect privacy in pragmatic clinical trials. We then review examples of novel approaches to respecting persons in research that may have the added benefit of honoring patient privacy considerations.
Going all-in: gender and campaign commitment
Authors: Miller Michael G
Published: September 2015

Recent evidence suggests that women overcome the potential negative impact of gender stereotypes by emerging when they are stronger candidates than men. I leverage an original survey of state legislative candidates to determine whether women devote more time to their campaigns. I find that women on the whole, and those who had previously been elected to a political office in particular, invested more of their personal time into the campaign than men. This difference is driven by the fact that women are more likely to forgo employment during the election. These findings suggest that women are more likely than men to arrange their personal obligations in such a fashion that they can run stronger campaigns.
Phase 2 study of frontline brentuximab vedotin monotherapy in Hodgkin lymphoma patients aged 60 years and older
Authors: Forero-Torres Andres , Holkova Beata , Goldschmidt Jerome , Chen Robert , Olsen Gregg , Boccia Ralph V. , Bordoni Rodolfo E. , Friedberg Jonathan W. , Sharman Jeff P. , Palanca-Wessels Maria Corinna , Wang Yinghui , Yasenchak Christopher A.
Published: September 2015

Key Points

Frontline brentuximab vedotin monotherapy provided a 92% ORR and was generally well tolerated in elderly HL patients.
Clinical and inflammatory characteristics of the European U-BIOPRED adult severe asthma cohort
Authors: Shaw Dominick E. , Sousa Ana R. , Fowler Stephen J. , Fleming Louise J. , Roberts Graham , Corfield Julie , Pandis Ioannis , Bansal Aruna T. , Bel Elisabeth H. , Auffray Charles , Compton Chris H. , Bisgaard Hans , Bucchioni Enrica , Caruso Massimo , Chanez Pascal , Dahlén Barbro , Dahlen Sven-Erik , Dyson Kerry , Frey Urs , Geiser Thomas , Gerhardsson de Verdier Maria , Gibeon David , Guo Yi-ke , Hashimoto Simone , Hedlin Gunilla , Jeyasingham Elizabeth , Hekking Pieter-Paul W. , Higenbottam Tim , Horváth Ildikó , Knox Alan J. , Krug Norbert , Erpenbeck Veit J. , Larsson Lars X. , Lazarinis Nikos , Matthews John G. , Middelveld Roelinde , Montuschi Paolo , Musial Jacek , Myles David , Pahus Laurie , Sandström Thomas , Seibold Wolfgang , Singer Florian , Strandberg Karin , Vestbo Jorgen , Vissing Nadja , von Garnier Christophe , Adcock Ian M. , Wagers Scott , Rowe Anthony , Howarth Peter , Wagener Ariane H. , Djukanovic Ratko , Sterk Peter J. , Chung Kian Fan
Published: September 2015

U-BIOPRED is a European Union consortium of 20 academic institutions, 11 pharmaceutical companies and six patient organisations with the objective of improving the understanding of asthma disease mechanisms using a systems biology approach.

This cross-sectional assessment of adults with severe asthma, mild/moderate asthma and healthy controls from 11 European countries consisted of analyses of patient-reported outcomes, lung function, blood and airway inflammatory measurements.

Patients with severe asthma (nonsmokers, n=311; smokers/ex-smokers, n=110) had more symptoms and exacerbations compared to patients with mild/moderate disease (n=88) (2.5 exacerbationsversus0.4 in the preceding 12 months; p<0.001), with worse quality of life, and higher levels of anxiety and depression. They also had a higher incidence of nasal polyps and gastro-oesophageal reflux with lower lung function. Sputum eosinophil count was higher in severe asthma compared to mild/moderate asthma (median count 2.99%versus1.05%; p=0.004) despite treatment with higher doses of inhaled and/or oral corticosteroids.

Consistent with other severe asthma cohorts, U-BIOPRED is characterised by poor symptom control, increased comorbidity and airway inflammation, despite high levels of treatment. It is well suited to identify asthma phenotypes using the array of “omic” datasets that are at the core of this systems medicine approach.
Multiple independent origins of auto-pollination in tropical orchids (Bulbophyllum) in light of the hypothesis of selfing as an evolutionary dead end
Authors: Gamisch Alexander , Fischer Gunter Alexander , Comes Hans Peter
Published: September 2015

Background

The transition from outcrossing to selfing has long been portrayed as an ‘evolutionary dead end’ because, first, reversals are unlikely and, second, selfing lineages suffer from higher rates of extinction owing to a reduced potential for adaptation and the accumulation of deleterious mutations. We tested these two predictions in a clade of MadagascanBulbophyllumorchids (30 spp.), including eight species where auto-pollinating morphs (i.e., selfers, without a ‘rostellum’) co-exist with their pollinator-dependent conspecifics (i.e., outcrossers, possessing a rostellum). Specifically, we addressed this issue on the basis of a time-calibrated phylogeny by means of ancestral character reconstructions and within the state-dependent evolution framework of BiSSE (Binary State Speciation and Extinction), which allowed jointly estimating rates of transition, speciation, and extinction between outcrossing and selfing.

Results

The eight species capable of selfing occurred in scattered positions across the phylogeny, with two likely originating in the Pliocene (ca. 4.4–3.1 Ma), one in the Early Pleistocene (ca. 2.4 Ma), and five since the mid-Pleistocene (ca. ≤ 1.3 Ma). We infer that this scattered phylogenetic distribution of selfing is best described by models including up to eight independent outcrossing-to-selfing transitions and very low rates of speciation (and either moderate or zero rates of extinction) associated with selfing.

Conclusions

The frequent and irreversible outcrossing-to-selfing transitions in MadagascanBulbophyllumare clearly congruent with the first prediction of the dead end hypothesis. The inability of our study to conclusively reject or support the likewise predicted higher extinction rate in selfing lineages might be explained by a combination of methodological limitations (low statistical power of our BiSSE approach to reliably estimate extinction in small-sized trees) and evolutionary processes (insufficient time elapsed for selfers to go extinct). We suggest that, in these tropical orchids, a simple genetic basis of selfing (via loss of the ‘rostellum’) is needed to explain the strikingly recurrent transitions to selfing, perhaps reflecting rapid response to parallel and novel selective environments over Late Quaternary (≤ 1.3 Ma) time scales.
Evolutionary history exposes radical diversification among classes of interaction partners of the MLLE domain of plant poly(A)-binding proteins
Authors: Jiménez-López Domingo , Bravo Jaime , Guzmán Plinio
Published: September 2015

Background

Poly(A)-binding proteins (PABPs) are evolutionarily conserved proteins that have important functions in the regulation of translation and the control of mRNA stability in eukaryotes. Most PABPs encode a C-terminal domain known as the MLLE domain (previously PABC or CTC), which can mediate protein interactions. In earlier work we identified and predicted that four classes of MLLE-interacting proteins were present inArabidopsis thaliana, which we named CID A, B, C, and D. These proteins encode transcription-activating domains (CID A), the Lsm and LsmAD domains of ataxin-2 (CID B), the CUE and small MutS-related domains (CID C), and two RNA recognition domains (CID D). We recently found that a novel class that lacks the LsmAD domain is present in CID B proteins.

Results

We extended our analysis to other classes of CIDs present in the viridiplantae. We found that novel variants also evolved in classes CID A and CID C. A specific transcription factor domain is present in a distinct lineage in class A, and a variant that lacks at least two distinct domains was also identified in a divergent lineage in class C. We did not detect any variants in Class D CIDs. This class often consists of four to six highly conserved RNA-binding proteins, which suggests that major redundancy is present in this class.

Conclusions

CIDs are likely to operate as components of posttranscriptional regulatory assemblies. The evident diversification of CIDs may be neutral or may be important for plant adaptation to the environment and for acquisition of specific traits during evolution. The fact that CIDs subclasses are maintained in early lineages suggest that a presumed interference between duplicates was resolved, and a defined function for each subclass was achieved.
Sex-linked genomic variation and its relationship to avian plumage dichromatism and sexual selection
Authors: Huang Huateng , Rabosky Daniel L.
Published: September 2015

Background

Sexual dichromatism is the tendency for sexes to differ in color pattern and represents a striking form of within-species morphological variation. Conspicuous intersexual differences in avian plumage are generally thought to result from Darwinian sexual selection, to the extent that dichromatism is often treated as a surrogate for the intensity of sexual selection in phylogenetic comparative studies. Intense sexual selection is predicted to leave a footprint on genetic evolution by reducing the relative genetic diversity on sex chromosome to that on the autosomes.

Results

In this study, we test the association between plumage dichromatism and sex-linked genetic diversity using eight species pairs with contrasting levels of dichromatism. We estimated Z-linked and autosomal genetic diversity for these non-model avian species using restriction-site associated (RAD) loci that covered ~3 % of the genome. We find that monochromatic birds consistently have reduced sex-linked genomic variation relative to phylogenetically-paired dichromatic species and this pattern is robust to mutational biases.

Conclusions

Our results are consistent with several interpretations. If present-day sexual selection is stronger in dichromatic birds, our results suggest that its impact on sex-linked genomic variation is offset by other processes that lead to proportionately lower Z-linked variation in monochromatic species. We discuss possible factors that may contribute to this discrepancy between phenotypes and genomic variation. Conversely, it is possible that present-day sexual selection -- as measured by the variance in male reproductive success -- is stronger in the set of monochromatic taxa we have examined, potentially reflecting the importance of song, behavior and other non-plumage associated traits as targets of sexual selection. This counterintuitive finding suggests that the relationship between genomic variation and sexual selection is complex and highlights the need for a more comprehensive survey of genomic variation in avian taxa that vary markedly in social and genetic mating systems.
Non-invasive monitoring of mitochondrial oxygenation and respiration in critical illness using a novel technique
Authors: Harms Floor A. , Bodmer Sander I. A. , Raat Nicolaas J.H. , Mik Egbert G.
Published: September 2015

Introduction

Although mitochondrial dysfunction is proposed to be involved in the pathophysiology of sepsis, conflicting results are reported. Variation in methods used to assess mitochondrial function might contribute to this controversy. A non-invasive method for monitoring mitochondrial function might help overcome this limitation. Therefore, this study explores the possibility of in vivo monitoring of mitochondrial oxygen tension (mitoPO2) and local mitochondrial oxygen consumptionin in an endotoxin-induced septic animal model.

Methods

Animals (rats n = 28) were assigned to a control group (no treatment), or to receive lipopolysaccharide without fluid resuscitation (LPS-NR) or lipopolysaccharide plus fluid resuscitation (LPS-FR). Sepsis was induced by intravenous LPS injection (1.6 mg/kg during 10 min), fluid resuscitation was performed by continuous infusion of a colloid solution, 7 ml kg−1 h−1 and a 2-ml bolus of the same colloid solution. MitoPO2 and ODR were measured by means of the protoporphyrin IX-triplet state lifetime technique (PpIX-TSLT). Kinetic aspects of the drop in mitoPO2 were recorded during 60s of skin compression. ODR was derived from the slope of the mitoPO2 oxygen disappearance curve. Measurements were made before and 3 h after induction of sepsis.

Results

At baseline (t0) all rats were hemodynamically stable. After LPS induction (t1), significant (p < 0.05) hemodynamic changes were observed in both LPS groups. At t0, mitoPO2 and ODR were 59 ± 1 mmHg, 64 ± 3 mmHg, 68 ± 4 mmHg and 5.0 ± 0.3 mmHg s−1, 5.3 ± 0.5 mmHg s−1, 5.7 ± 0.5 mmHg s−1 in the control, LPS-FR and LPS-NR groups, respectively; at t1 these values were 58 ± 5 mmHg, 50 ± 2.3 mmHg, 30 ± 3.3 mmHg and 4.5 ± 0.5 mmHg s−1, 3.3 ± 0.3 mmHg s−1, 1.8 ± 0.3 mmHg s−1, respectively. At t1, only mitoPO2 showed a significant difference between the controls and LPS-NR. In contrast, at t1 both LPS groups showed a significantly lower ODR compared to controls.

Conclusion

These data show the feasibility to monitor alterations in mitochondrial oxygen consumption in vivo by PpIX-TSLT in a septic rat model. These results may contribute to the development of a clinical device to monitor mitochondrial function in the critically ill.
Altering the mechanical scenario to decrease the driving pressure
Authors: Borges João Batista , Hedenstierna Göran , Larsson Anders , Suarez-Sipmann Fernando
Published: September 2015

Ventilator settings resulting in decreased driving pressure (ΔP) are positively associated with survival. How to further foster the potential beneficial mediator effect of a reduced ΔP? One possibility is promoting the active modification of the lung’s “mechanical scenario” by means of lung recruitment and positive end-expiratory pressure selection. By taking into account the individual distribution of the threshold-opening airway pressures to achieve maximal recruitment, a redistribution of the tidal volume from overdistended to newly recruited lung occurs. The resulting more homogeneous distribution of transpulmonary pressures may induce a relief of overdistension in the upper regions. The gain in lung compliance after a successful recruitment rescales the size of the functional lung, potentially allowing for a further reduction in ΔP.
Intraocular pressure reduction and neuroprotection conferred by bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells in an animal model of glaucoma
Authors: Roubeix Christophe , Godefroy David , Mias Céline , Sapienza Anaïs , Riancho Luisa , Degardin Julie , Fradot Valérie , Ivkovic Ivana , Picaud Serge , Sennlaub Florian , Denoyer Alexandre , Rostene William , Sahel José Alain , Parsadaniantz Stéphane Melik , Brignole-Baudouin Françoise , Baudouin Christophe
Published: September 2015

Introduction

Glaucoma is a sight-threatening retinal neuropathy associated with elevated intraocular pressure (IOP) due to degeneration and fibrosis of the trabecular meshwork (TM). Glaucoma medications aim to reduce IOP without targeting the specific TM pathology, Bone-marrow mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are used today in various clinical studies. Here, we investigated the potential of MSCs therapy in an glaucoma-like ocular hypertension (OHT) model and decipher in vitro the effects of MSCs on primary human trabecular meshwork cells.

Methods

Ocular hypertension model was performed by cauterization of 3 episcleral veins (EVC) of Long-Evans male rat eyes. MSCs were isolated from rat bone marrow, amplified in vitro and tagged with quantum dot nanocrystals. Animals were distributed as 1) MSCs group receiving 5.105cells/6μl Minimum Essential Medium and 2) MEM group receiving 6μl MEM (n = 10 each). Injections were performed into the anterior chamber of 20 days-hypertensive eyes and IOP was monitored twice a week for 4 weeks. At the end of experiment, cell distribution in the anterior segment was examined in confocal microscopy on flat mounted corneas. Moreover, we tested in vitro effects of MSCs conditioned medium (MSC-CM) on primary human trabecular meshwork cells (hTM cells) using Akt activation, myosin phosphorylation and TGF-β2-dependent profibrotic phenotype in hTM cells.

Results

We demonstrated a rapid and long-lasting in vivo effect of MSCs transplantation that significantly reduced IOP in hypertensive eyes induced by EVC. MSCs were located to the ciliary processes and the TM. Enumeration of RGCs on whole flat-mounted retina highlighted a protective effect of MSCs on RGCs death. In vitro, MSC-CM promotes: (i) hTM cells survival by activating the antiapoptotic pathway, Akt, (ii) hTM cells relaxation as analyzed by the decrease in myosin phosphorylation and (iii) inhibition of TGF-β2-dependent profibrotic phenotype acquisition in hTM cells.

Conclusions

MSCs injection in the ocular anterior chamber in a rat model of OHT provides neuroprotective effect in the glaucoma pathophysiology via TM protection. These results demonstrate that MSCs constitute promising tool for treating ocular hypertension and retinal cell degeneration.
Neuroinflammatory signals enhance the immunomodulatory and neuroprotective properties of multipotent adult progenitor cells
Authors: Ravanidis Stylianos , Bogie Jeroen F. J. , Donders Raf , Craeye David , Mays Robert W. , Deans Robert , Gijbels Kristel , Bronckaers Annelies , Stinissen Piet , Pinxteren Jef , Hellings Niels
Published: September 2015

Introduction

Stem cell-based therapies are currently widely explored as a tool to treat neuroimmune diseases. Multipotent adult progenitor cells (MAPC) have been suggested to have strong immunomodulatory and neuroprotective properties in several experimental models. In this study, we investigate whether MAPC are of therapeutic interest for neuroinflammatory disorders such as multiple sclerosis by evaluating their capacities to modulate crucial pathological features and gain insights into the molecular pathways involved.

Methods

Rat MAPC were treated with combinations of pro-inflammatory cytokines that are closely associated with neuroinflammatory conditions, a process called licensing. mRNA expression of immunomodulatory molecules, chemokines and chemokine receptors was investigated. The migratory potential of licensed rat MAPC towards a broad spectrum of chemokines was tested in a Transwell assay. Furthermore, the effect of licensing on the ability of rat MAPC to attract and suppress the proliferation of encephalitogenic T cells was assessed. Finally, neuroprotective properties of rat MAPC were determined in the context of protection from oxidative stress of oligodendrocytes. Therefore, rat MAPC were incubated with conditioned medium of OLN93 cells subjected to sublethal doses of hydrogen peroxide and the gene expression of neurotrophic factors was assessed.

Results

After licensing, a wide variety of immunomodulatory molecules and chemokines, including inducible nitric oxide synthase and fractalkine, were upregulated by rat MAPC. The migratory properties of rat MAPC towards various chemokines were also altered. In addition, rat MAPC were found to inhibit antigen-specific T-cell proliferation and this suppressive effect was further enhanced after pro-inflammatory treatment. This phenomenon was partially mediated through inducible nitric oxide synthase or cyclooxygenase-2. Activated rat MAPC secreted factors that led to attraction of myelin-specific T cells. Finally, exposure of rat MAPC to an in vitro simulated neurodegenerative environment induced the upregulation of mRNA levels of vascular endothelial growth factor and ciliary neurotrophic factor. Factors secreted by rat MAPC in response to this environment partially protected OLN93 cells from hydrogen peroxide-induced cell death.

Conclusions

Rat MAPC possess immune modulatory and neuroprotective properties which are enhanced in response to neuroinflammatory signals. These findings thereby warrant further research to evaluate MAPC transplantation as a therapeutic approach in diseases with an immunological and neurodegenerative component such as multiple sclerosis.
Current approaches in identification and isolation of human renal cell carcinoma cancer stem cells
Authors: Khan Mohammed I. , Czarnecka Anna M. , Helbrecht Igor , Bartnik Ewa , Lian Fei , Szczylik Cezary
Published: September 2015

In recent years, cancer stem cells (CSCs)/tumor initiating cells (TICs) have been identified inside different tumors. However, currently used anti-cancer therapies are mostly directed against somatic tumor cells without targeting CSCs/TICs. CSCs/TICs also gain resistance to chemotherapies/radiotherapies. For the development of efficient treatment strategies, choosing the best method for isolation and characterization of CSCs/TICs is still debated among the scientific community. In this review, we summarize recent data concerning isolation techniques for CSCs using magnetic cell sorting and flow cytometry. The review focuses on the strategies for sample preparation during flow cytometric analysis, elaborating biomarkers such as CXCR4, CD105, and CD133. In addition, functional properties characteristic of CSCs/TICs using side population selection through Hoechst 33342 dye, aldehyde dehydrogenase 1, dye-cycle violet, and rhodamine 123 are also discussed. We also include a special focus on enriching CSCs/TICs using three-dimensional cell culture models such as agarose–agarose microbeads and sphere formation.
Achieving human security for migrants: the limits of state policies and migration-development initiatives
Authors: San Jose Benjamin A.
Published: September 2015

The Philippines is one of the top migrant sending countries and is often lauded as a model migrant country due to its skilled migrant labor force, high remittance rates and forward-thinking government policies. However, it is often criticized for its policies of exploitative labor migrant export, its dependency to migrant remittances, and its failure to offer migrant protection. In recent years, scholars and policy makers have suggested using human security as an approach to address the challenges of migration. By bringing the focus away from the state to becoming people-centered, human security aims to address the problems of statelessness, the lack of migrant protection, human rights, and offers long-term solutions to migration. Since the Philippines is highly dependent on migrant labor and is in the forefront of promoting migrant conditions in the international arena, some relevant questions can be raised: what are the role and benefits of using a human security approach for migrants? How does the Philippines attempt to secure human security for its migrants? Has the Philippines achieved human security for its migrants? This paper argues that as the Philippines grew more dependent on labor migration, human security for migrants is attempted by the state through an institutionalized set of policies and assumptions. The promise of migrant welfare and human security is premised on the following points: creating better policies and institutionalizing migrant state agencies, creating national laws together with bilateral and multilateral agreements on migration and in recent years, and the promotion of migration and development initiatives. While these attempts may hold promise, they suffer from limitations on implementation and sustainability. In the final analysis, human security can only be achieved by working towards a national dialogue on migration where stakeholders from the state, civil society organizations, and migrant groups participate in the national debate on the future of migration. Only by reaching a national dialogue on responsive and long-term policies that are grounded in human security can the country go beyond the view that migration and development policies are a catch-all panacea to the problems of migrant protection and long-term economic development in the homeland.