bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Galectin-3 as a new negative checkpoint of the immune response is the key target for effective immunotherapy against prostate cancer
Authors: Tiraboschi Carolina , Gentilini Lucas , Jaworski Felipe M. , Corapi Enrique , Velazquez Carla , Chauchereau Anne , Laderach Diego J. , Compagno Daniel
Published: September 2019

Prostate cancer (PCa) is a major health problem worldwide. Taxol derivatives–based chemotherapies or immunotherapies are usually proposed depending on the symptomatic status. In the case of immunotherapy, tumors develop robust immune escape mechanisms that abolish any protective response. However, Docetaxel has been shown to enhance the effectiveness of immunotherapy in a variety of cancers, but to date, the mechanism is still unknown. Herein, we showed first that Galectin-3 (Gal-3) expressed by prostate tumor cells is the principal immunological checkpoint responsible of the failure of immunotherapy; and that Docetaxel leads to the inhibition of Gal-3 expression in PCa cells as well as in clinical samples of mCRPC patients promoting a Th1 response. We thus optimized a prostate cancer animal model that undergoes surgical resection of the tumor like prostatectomy to mimic what is usually performed in patients. More importantly, using low and nontoxic doses of taxane prior to immunotherapy, we were able to directly impact the activation and proliferation of CD8+ cytotoxic T cells through reducing the number of CD8+CD122+CD28-T cells and highly control tumor recurrence. Thus, Gal-3 expression by PCa cells is a key inhibitor for the success of immunotherapy, and low doses of Docetaxel with noncytotoxic effect on leukocyte survival should be used prior to vaccination for all PCa patients. This combined treatment sequence right after surgery would promote the preconditioning of the tumor microenvironment, allowing for effective anti-tumor immunotherapy and can be transferred rapidly to clinical therapeutic protocols.
Interplay between persistent activity and activity-silent dynamics in prefrontal cortex during working memory
Authors: Barbosa J , Stein H , Martinez R , Galan A , Adam K , Li S , Valls-Solé J , Constantinidis C , Compte A
Published: September 2019

Persistent neuronal spiking has long been considered the mechanism underlying working memory, but recent proposals argue for alternative, “activity-silent” substrates for memory. Using monkey and human electrophysiology, we show here that attractor dynamics that control neural spiking during mnemonic periods interact with activity-silent mechanisms in PFC. This interaction allows memory reactivation, which enhance serial biases in spatial working memory. Stimulus information was not decodable between trials, but remained present in activity-silent traces inferred from spiking synchrony in PFC. Just prior to the new stimulus, this latent trace was reignited into activity that recapitulated the previous stimulus representation. Importantly, the reactivation strength correlated with the strength of serial biases in both monkeys and humans, as predicted by a computational model integrating activity-based and activity-silent mechanisms. Finally, single-pulse TMS applied to human prefrontal cortex prior to trial start enhanced serial biases, demonstrating the causal role of prefrontal reactivations in determining working memory behavior.
Click by Click Microporous Annealed Particle (MAP) Scaffolds
Authors: Darling Nicole J. , Xi Weixian , Sideris Elias , Anderson Alexa , Pong Cassie , Carmichael S. Thomas , Segura Tatiana
Published: September 2019

Macroporous scaffolds are being increasingly used in regenerative medicine and tissue repair. While our recently developed microporous annealed particle (MAP) scaffolds have overcome issues with injectability and in situ hydrogel formation, limitations with respect to tunability to be able to manipulate hydrogel strength and rigidity for broad applications still exist. To address these key issues, here we synthesized hydrogel microparticles (HMPs) of hyaluronic acid (HA) using the thiol-norbornene click reaction and then subsequently annealed HMPs into a porous scaffold using the tetrazine-norbornene click reaction. This assembly method allowed for straightforward tuning of bulk scaffold rigidity by varying the tetrazine to norbornene ratio, with increasing tetrazine resulting in increasing scaffold storage modulus, Young’s modulus, and maximum stress. These changes were independent of void fraction. Further incorporation of human dermal fibroblasts (HDFs) throughout the porous scaffold revealed the biocompatibility of this annealing strategy as well as differences in proliferation and cell-occupied volume. Finally, injection of porous HA-Tet MAP scaffolds into an ischemic stroke model showed this chemistry is biocompatible in vivo with reduced levels of inflammation and astrogliosis as previously demonstrated for other crosslinking chemistries.
One-Shot phase-recovery using a Cellphone RGB Camera on a Jamin-Lebedeff Microscope
Authors: Diederich Benedict , Marsikova Barbora , Amos Brad , Heintzmann Rainer
Published: September 2019

Jamin-Lebedeff (JL) polarization interference microscopy is a classical method for determining the change in the optical path of transparent tissues. Whilst a differential interference contrast (DIC) microscopy interferes an image with itself shifted by half a point spread function, the shear between the object and reference image in a JL-microscope is about half the field of view. The optical path difference (OPD) between the sample and reference region (assumed to be empty) is encoded into a colour by white-light interference. From a colour-table, the Michel-Levy chart, the OPD can be deduced. In cytology JL-imaging can be used as a way to determine the OPD which closely corresponds to the dry mass per area of cells in a single image.

Like in other interference microscopy methods (e.g. holography), we present a phase retrieval method relying on single-shot measurements only, thus allowing real-time quantitative phase measurements. This is achieved by adding several customized 3D-printed parts (e.g. rotational polarization-filter holders) and a modern cellphone with an RGB-camera to the Jamin-Lebedeff setup, thus bringing an old microscope back to life.

The algorithm is calibrated using a reference image of a known phase object (e.g. optical fiber). A gradient-descent based inverse problem generates an inverse look-up-table (LUT) which is used to convert the measured RGB signal of a phase-sample into an OPD.

To account for possible ambiguities in the phase-map or phase-unwrapping artifacts we introduce a total-variation based regularization. We present results from fixed and living biological samples as well as reference samples for comparison.
Effects of Post-Activation Potentiation induced by a plyometric protocol on deceleration performance
Authors: Ciocca Gianmarco , Tschan Harald , Tessitore Antonio
Published: September 2019

Post-Activation Potentiation is a phenomenon by which muscular performance characteristics are acutely enhanced as a result of their previous contractile actions. It has been shown how Post-Activation Potentiation, which is usually evoked through heavy resistance exercise, has the potential to improve many different power performances, such as sprinting and jumping. Due to an easier applicability, some studies explored the potential of plyometric muscular actions to evoke the effects of Post-Activation Potentiation. Despite some findings on acceleration running performance, to the authors’ best knowledge, no studies investigated the effects of Post-Activation Potentiation on deceleration performance, which is a key factor in sports involving change of directions. Therefore, the aim of this study is to investigate the influence of a plyometric exercise protocol to a subsequent deceleration running performance. University soccer players (n = 18) performed 7 deceleration trials: at baseline and after ∼ 15 seconds, 2, 4, 8, 12 and 16 minutes a walking control condition (C) or 3 sets of 10 repetitions of alternate-leg bounding (plyometric, P). Results show that no significant differences were found at any of the trials of the control condition (C) in comparison to the relative baseline. In the plyometric condition (P), the deceleration performance executed 2 minutes after the plyometric activity resulted significantly faster compared to the relative baseline (p = 0.042; ES = 0.86, large effect; % of improvement = 4.13 %). Therefore, the main findings of this study showed that a plyometric exercise has the potential to improve a subsequent running deceleration performance in soccer players, if an adequate recovery between these activities is provided to the players. These findings encourage further future investigations about the possible potentiating effects of plyometric activities on more complex actions like changes of direction and agility.
An RNA-seq quantification method for analysis of transcriptional aberrations
Authors: Kuwahara Hiroyuki , Alkuraya Fowzan , Gao Xin
Published: September 2019

Transcriptome level analysis has been shown to have the great potential for clinical utility. Here, we introduce omega, a between-sample RNA-seq quantification to estimate the abundance level of functional mRNAs which is suitable for analysis of transcriptional aberrations and molecular diagnostics of a range of genetic diseases. By using five diagnosed cases of Mendelian diseases as a case study, we show evidence that omega can improve the signal to detect genes with deleterious transcriptional aberrations and drastically reduce the disease-gene search space.
SET8 localization to chromatin flanking DNA damage is dependent on RNF168 ubiquitin ligase
Authors: Dulev Stanimir , Lin Sichun , Liu Qingquan , Cetintas Vildan B. , Batada Nizar N.
Published: September 2019

The DNA damage response (DDR) associated post-translational modifications recruit chromatin remodelers, signaling proteins such as 53BP1 and repair factors to chromatin flanking DNA double strand breaks (DSBs) to promote its repair. Although localization of both RNF168 ubiquitin ligase and SET8 methyltransferase at DSBs is essential for 53BP1’s recruitment to DSBs, it is unclear if they do so via the same pathways. Here we report that RNF168 mediates SET8’s recruitment to DSBs. Depletion of cellular pool of ubiquitin through proteasome inhibition abolished RNF168 and SET8’s localization to DNA damage. Knockdown of RNF8 or RNF168 abolished SET8’s recruitment to DNA damage. Moreover, RNF168 and SET8 form stable complexes in vivo. Based on these results we propose a model in which SET8, which despite being a pan-chromatin binding protein, can accumulate several folds at chromatin flanking DSBs through tethering to other proteins that specifically localize to chromatin regions with specific modifications.
Gaze direction as equilibrium: more evidence from spatial and temporal aspects of small-saccade triggering in the rhesus macaque monkey
Authors: Hafed Ziad M. , Goffart Laurent
Published: September 2019

Rigorous behavioral studies made in human subjects have shown that small-eccentricity target displacements are associated with increased saccadic reaction times, but the reasons for this remain unclear. Before characterizing the neurophysiological foundations underlying this relationship between the spatial and temporal aspects of saccades, we tested the triggering of small saccades in the male rhesus macaque monkey. We also compared our results to those obtained in human subjects, both from the existing literature and through our own additional measurements. Using a variety of behavioral tasks exercising visual and non-visual guidance of small saccades, we found that small saccades consistently require more time than larger saccades to be triggered in the non-human primate, even in the absence of any visual guidance and when valid advance information about the saccade landing position is available. We also found a strong asymmetry in the reaction times of small upward versus downward visually-guided saccades, similar to larger saccades, a phenomenon that has not been described before for small saccades, even in humans. Following the suggestion that an eye movement is not initiated as long as the visuo-oculomotor system is within a state of balance, in which opposing commands counterbalance each other, we propose that the longer reaction times are a signature of enhanced times needed to create the symmetry-breaking condition that puts downstream premotor neurons into a push-pull regime necessary for rotating the eyeballs. Our results provide an important catalog of non-human primate oculomotor capabilities on the miniature scale, allowing concrete predictions on underlying neurophysiological mechanisms.
The type IV pilin PilA couples surface attachment and cell cycle initiation in Caulobacter crescentus
Authors: Medico Luca Del , Cerletti Dario , Christen Matthias , Christen Beat
Published: September 2019

Understanding how bacteria colonize surfaces and regulate cell cycle progression in response to cellular adhesion is of fundamental importance. Here, we used transposon sequencing in conjunction with FRET microscopy to uncover the molecular mechanism how surface sensing drives cell cycle initiation in Caulobacter crescentus. We identified the type IV pilin protein PilA as the primary signaling input that couples surface contact to cell cycle initiation via the second messenger c-di-GMP. Upon retraction of pili filaments, the monomeric pilin reservoir in the inner membrane is sensed by the 17 amino-acid transmembrane helix of PilA to activate the PleC-PleD two component signaling system, increase cellular c-di-GMP levels and signal the onset of the cell cycle. We termed the PilA signaling sequence CIP for cell cycle initiating pilin peptide. Addition of the chemically synthesized CIP peptide initiates cell cycle progression and simultaneously inhibits surface attachment. The broad conservation of the type IV pili and their importance in pathogens for host colonization suggests that CIP peptide mimetics offer new strategies to inhibit surface-sensing, prevent biofilm formation and control persistent infections.

Significance Statement

Pili are hair-like appendages found on the surface of many bacteria to promote adhesion. Here, we provide systems-level findings on a molecular signal transduction pathway that interlinks surface sensing with cell cycle initiation. We propose that surface attachment induces depolymerization of pili filaments. The concomitant increase in pilin sub-units within the inner membrane function as a stimulus to activate the second messenger c-di-GMP and trigger cell cycle initiation. Further-more, we show that the provision of a 17 amino acid synthetic peptide corresponding to the membrane portion of the pilin sub-unit mimics surface sensing, activates cell cycle initiation and inhibits surface attachment. Thus, synthetic peptide mimetics of pilin may represent new chemotypes to control biofilm formation and treat bacterial infections.
Plastidial (p)ppGpp synthesis by the Ca2+-dependent RelA-SpoT homolog regulates the adaptation of chloroplast gene expression to darkness in Arabidopsis
Authors: Ono Sumire , Suzuki Sae , Ito Doshun , Tagawa Shota , Shiina Takashi , Masuda Shinji
Published: September 2019

In bacteria, the hyper-phosphorylated nucleotides, guanosine 5’-diphosphate 3’-diphosphate (ppGpp) and guanosine 5’-triphosphate 3’-diphosphate (pppGpp), function as secondary messengers in the regulation of various metabolic processes of the cell, including transcription, translation, and enzymatic activities, especially under nutrient deficiency. The activity carried out by these nucleotide messengers is known as the stringent response. (p)ppGpp levels are controlled by two distinct enzymes, namely, RelA and SpoT, in Escherichia coli. RelA-SpoT homologs (RSHs) are also conserved in plants and algae where they function in the plastids. The model plant Arabidopsis thaliana contains four RSHs: RSH1, RSH2, RSH3, and Ca2+-dependent RSH (CRSH). Genetic characterizations of RSH1, RSH2, and RSH3 were undertaken, which showed that the (p)ppGpp-dependent plastidial stringent response significantly influences plant growth and stress acclimation. However, the physiological significance of CRSH-dependent (p)ppGpp synthesis remains unclear, as no crsh-null mutant has been available. Here to investigate the function of CRSH, a crsh-knockout mutant of Arabidopsis was constructed using a site-specific gene-editing technique, and its phenotype was characterized. A transient increase of ppGpp was observed for 30 min in the wild type (WT) after light-to-dark transition, but this increase was not observed in the crsh mutant. Similar analyzes were performed with the rsh2rsh3 double and rsh1rsh2rsh3 triple mutants of Arabidopsis and showed that the transient increments of ppGpp in the mutants were higher than those in the WT. The increase of (p)ppGpp in the WT and rsh2rsh3 accompanied decrements in the mRNA levels of psbD transcribed by the plastid-encoded plastid RNA polymerase. These results indicated that the transient increase of intracellular ppGpp at night is due to CRSH-dependent ppGpp synthesis and the (p)ppGpp level is maintained by the hydrolytic activities of RSH1, RSH2, and RSH3 to accustom plastidial gene expression to darkness.
Crystal structure of bis[2-(1H-benzimidazol-2-yl-κN
3)aniline-κN]bis(nitrato-κO)cadmium(II)
Authors: Kim Yongtae , Kang Sung Kwon
Published: September 2019

In the title compound, [Cd(NO3)2(C13H11N3)2], the CdII atom lies on a twofold rotation axis and is coordinated by four N atoms and two O atoms, provided by two bidentate 2-(1H-benzimidazol-2-yl)aniline ligands, and two nitrato O atoms, forming a distorted octahedral geometry [range of bond angles around the Cd atom = 73.82 (2)–106.95 (8)°]. In the ligand, the dihedral angle between the aniline ring and the benzimidazole ring system is 30.43 (7)°. The discrete complex molecule is stabilized by an intramolecular N—H...O hydrogen bond. In the crystal, intermolecular N—H...O hydrogen bonds link the molecules, forming a three-dimensional network.
Management accountant’s role and society’s expectations: Sri Lankan study
Authors: Rajeevan Shanmugavel
Published: September 2019

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to gain insights into the gap between management accounting professional’s role and the societal expectations of the management accounting professionals in Sri Lanka.

Design/methodology/approach

A quantitative research approach was adopted to identify the statistical gap of the management accountant’s role and society’s expectations. Four business sectors were selected from Colombo Stock Exchange as of 31 December 2018. Sample consisted of 160 entities; 480 questionnaires were distributed among three stakeholders (financial accountant/manager, management accountant and human resource manager). Out of the 228 responses received, only 171 responses were usable. Exhibiting an overall response rate of 35.6 per cent.

Findings

The role expectation of management accountants varies significantly across the selected business sectors in Sri Lanka. There is an increasing demand for contemporary management accounting skills in Sri Lanka.

Practical implications

The insights of this study would be of use to policy makers and policy implementers to examine and develop remedial measures to enhance the creditability and transparency of the management accounting profession in Sri Lanka. Academic and professional educational providers can identify future trends and necessary skills of management accounting to improve management accounting curriculum.

Originality/value

The evidence from this study contributes to the literature of societal importance of management accounting from a Sri Lankan perspective.
What can neuroscience offer marketing research?
Authors: Sung Billy , Wilson Nicholas J. , Yun Jin Ho , LEE Eun Ju
Published: September 2019

Purpose

Neuroimaging technologies such as electroencephalogram and magnetic resonance imaging allow us to analyze consumers’ brains in real time as they experience emotions. These technologies collect and integrate data on consumers’ brains for big data analytics. The purpose of this paper is to identify new opportunities and challenges for neuromarketing as an applied neuroscience.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors discuss conceptual and methodological contributions of neuromarketing based on studies that have employed neural approaches in market-related investigations, explaining the various tools and designs of neuromarketing research. The authors identify marketing-related questions to which neuroscientific approaches can make meaningful contributions, evaluating several challenges that lie ahead for neuromarketing.

Findings

The authors summarize the contributions of neuromarketing and discuss synergistic findings that neuromarketing has the potential to yield.

Research limitations/implications

The authors ask: do consumers’ self-reported choices and their neural representations tell different stories?; what are the effects of subtle and peripheral marketing stimuli?; and can neuromarketing help to reveal the underlying causal mechanisms for perceptual and learning processes, such as motivation and emotions?

Practical implications

The authors identify marketing-related questions to which neuroscientific approaches can make meaningful contributions, evaluating several challenges that lie ahead for neuromarketing.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, no current review has identified avenues for future research in neuromarketing and the emerging challenges that researchers may face. The current paper aims to update readers on what neuroscience and other psychophysiological measures have achieved, as well as what these tools have to offer in the field of marketing. The authors also aim to foster greater application of neuroscientific methods, beyond the more biased/post-test methods such as self-report studies, which currently exist in consumer research.
At their wits’ end? How divorced women cope with workplace harassment in Sri Lanka
Authors: Adikaram Arosha
Published: September 2019

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine how and with what reasons, divorced women respond to harassment they face at work, within a patriarchal culture of stigma and prejudice about divorced women. This inquiry will be performed by integrating stigma-management and identity-management research with research on responding to and coping with harassment.

Design/methodology/approach

Using qualitative research methodology, semi-structured, in-depth interviews were carried out with 12 divorced working women.

Findings

Findings of the study illuminate the manner in which stigma management interacts with harassment coping/respond mechanisms in dynamic ways, leading to complex response strategies for divorced women, which can be broadly identified as stigma-focused response strategies and harassment-focused response strategies. A strategy typology – consisting of seven major quadrants and nine major strategies therein – is thus provided, explaining how divorced women struggle to maintain their identity and manage stigma while coping with harassment.

Practical implications

The paper point towards the need for organisations to be mindful of the struggles of stigmatised individuals in coping and responding to harassment, and their distinct situations and experiences in developing and implementing interventions such as training, awareness creation and policies on harassment.

Originality/value

While research on reaction to harassment is abundant, how divorced women – as a stigmatised and marginalised group of individuals in society – cope with harassment at work is almost non-existent. The present study fills this gap by exploring harassment responses at the nexus of stigma and identity management.
Contextualising public entrepreneurship in Greek local government austerity
Authors: Melissanidou Eleni , Johnston Lorraine
Published: September 2019

Purpose

Public entrepreneurs are an under-researched group in local government. The purpose of this paper is to explore the contextual complexities of public entrepreneurs who pursue more creative ways of “doing more with less” to cope with dynamic financial and societal anxieties of Greek local government fiscal austerity policy reforms. Precisely, this study aims to the understanding of how specific contextual influences impact, first, on the nature of public entrepreneurship and, second, on manifested outcomes. A systematic approach marks the authors attempt to assess the broader impact pointing out the implications for research, policy and practice.

Design/methodology/approach

A case study of Greek local government draws on 26 in-depth semi-structured interviews with public entrepreneurs across top, middle and front-line levels of management, field notes, documentary and archival evidence.

Findings

The findings demonstrate unique Greek contextual complexities such as contradictory tensions between triggered decentralisation of control and responsibilities of the local government and attempts of external reinvention rather than internal renewal. These complexities influence public entrepreneurs’ systemic entrepreneurship behaviours in Greek local government since the implementation of fiscal austerity policy reforms in 2010. Their representation is manifest in policy, administrative and technological outcomes with public value consequences.

Originality/value

This research contributes to a deeper understanding of public entrepreneurship in context. Greek local government public entrepreneurs bring original insights on the contextual influences of their systemic enactment and manifested outcomes, with implications for research, policy and practice.
Meal context and food offering in Quebec public nursing homes: the perspectives of first-generation immigrant residents, family members, and frontline care aides
Authors: Girard Alain , El Mabchour Asma
Published: September 2019

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to gain a better understanding of the meal context and the food offering in Quebec public nursing homes for non-autonomous seniors, particularly with respect to first-generation immigrants.

Design/methodology/approach

A focused ethnography approach was used. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with three distinct groups: non-Quebec-born residents (n=26), their families (n=24) and frontline care staff (n=51). Structured non-participative observations were made in facilities.

Findings

First-generation immigrants, however, long ago they arrived in Quebec, adapted with difficulty and often not at all to the food offering. Resident’s appetite for food offer was a problem for reasons related primarily to food quality, mealtime schedules, medication intake, physical and mental condition, and adaptation to institutional life. Family/friends often brought in food. Care staff tasks were becoming increasingly tedious and routinized, impacting quality of care.

Practical implications

Institutions should render procedures and processes more flexible and adapt their food offering to the growing diversity of their client groups. For residents, the meal experience is profoundly transformed in nursing homes in terms of form, conditions, rituals and meaning. A better understanding of lived situations shaped by a more refined cultural sensitivity would go a long way toward achieving a better quality of life not only for residents but also for their families and friends. Care aides, on whose shoulders rests the responsibility of ensuring that meals are safe and pleasant moments for socializing and maintaining social dispositions, are ambivalent about their work.

Originality/value

The paper is based on an original study. To the authors’ knowledge, the literature on the meal context and food offering in Quebec public nursing homes, regardless of population type, was non-existent. Analyzing and interpreting the results by crossing the discourses of immigrant residents, their family and friends, and frontline care staff made it possible to reveal different aspects of the phenomenon, which, if considered together, shed light on the meal context in public nursing homes.
Business model innovation in the Indian hospitality industry
Authors: Bharwani Sonia , Mathews David , Ghura Amarpreet Singh
Published: September 2019

Purpose

This study aims to explore the reasons for the rise of independent, stand-alone restaurants and ascertains the benefits of outsourcing food and beverage (F&B) in luxury hotels in India from the perspectives of the strategic partners involved in such an alliance. The study also proposes different formats for F&B outsourcing in luxury hotels.

Design/methodology/approach

An exploratory study was carried out by collecting primary data from 16 Hotel General Managers and F&B operations experts through qualitative, semi-structured, personal and in-depth interviews. NVivo12 software was used to carry out a qualitative thematic analysis of the data. The primary data collected were triangulated with secondary data gathered through literature review of academic papers, industry reports and studies on the trends of restaurants in luxury hotels being outsourced.

Findings

The study focusses on the antecedents of the rise of stand-alone restaurants in the Indian hospitality industry. To combat the competitive disruption arising because of this trend, the study posits the business model innovation of outsourcing F&B operations in luxury hotels.

Practical implications

The benefits of a strategic alliance from the perspective of both parties – the luxury hotel and Michelin-star chef or branded/marquee restaurant – are elucidated. Further, three broad formats, which can be adopted for speciality restaurant outsourcing are also proposed. Practitioners, researchers and educationists in the hospitality industry would find the implications of this study useful in the context of the present customer-centric business environment where hotels are constantly striving to meet the exponentially rising bar of guest expectations in an increasingly globalised milieu.

Originality/value

The study proposes a preliminary road map for internationalisation of F&B operations through the business model innovation of outsourcing operations of in-house specialty restaurants by luxury hotels in the Indian context.
Exploring the influence of service dogs on participation in daily occupations by veterans with PTSD: A pilot study
Authors: McLaughlin Kathryn , Hamilton Anita L.
Published: September 2019

Introduction

Post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) resulting from military service can seriously impact quality of life. There is support for the use of service dogs amongst people with PTSD in managing symptoms by reducing anxiety and depression. To date, few studies have investigated this phenomenon comprehensively, particularly in relation to enhancing participation in daily occupations.

Methods

We explored the experience of a group of ex‐serving members of the Australian military with PTSD, who had partnered with a service dog. We sought to understand the influence of the service dog on PTSD symptom management and participation in meaningful daily occupations. Seven participants who had been paired with a service dog were recruited from a Veterans’ support organisation. Two semi‐structured focus group sessions were conducted, audio‐recorded and transcribed verbatim. The transcripts from the focus group sessions and researcher field notes were analysed independently by two researchers using an inductive approach to generate codes and themes.

Results

The themes that emerged from the data were: isolation, safety, lifeline, reconnection and challenges. Veterans in this study reported that partnering with a service dog helped them to feel safe, helped them to manage the symptoms and impact of PTSD, resulting in improved sleep quality, emotional regulation, reduced anxiety, enhanced anger management, and a reduction in the misuse of alcohol and prescription medication and suicidal ideation. These changes led to improved relationships and increased participation in meaningful daily occupations. Ongoing financial support for veterans who have partnered with a service dog needs to be more closely examined.

Conclusion

These findings are important and highlight that a larger and more comprehensive, research project examining the impact of service dogs on the quality of life.
KIF2 mediates the neuroprotection in cerebral ischaemia injury by affecting NF‐κB pathway
Authors: Wang Jin , Chen Jie , Chen Jun , Liu Xifang , Yang Haixia , Liu Jing , He Ali , Gao Xiaohang , Xin Yinhu
Published: September 2019

Stroke is the most common cerebrovascular disease with high morbidity and mortality around the world. However, the underlying mechanisms involved in nerve injury and cerebral ischaemia/reperfusion (I/R) during cerebrovascular disease are still not completely clear. In the present study, we investigate the role of kinesin family member 2 (KIF2) in the neuroprotection after cerebral I/R injury. KIF2 was aberrantly expressed in the cerebral tissues from middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) rat model in a time dependent manner. A similar changing pattern was found in the cultured hypoxic neurons as well as SK‐N‐SH cells in vitro. Compared to the control, KIF2 inhibition significantly increased the level of malonic dialdehyde (MDA), and reduced the level of superoxide dismutase (SOD) as well as glutathione peroxidase (GSH‐px) activity in cerebral tissues of MCAO rat model. The reactive oxygen species (ROS) level was also up‐regulated after KIF2 siRNA knockdown in cultured hypoxic SK‐N‐SH cells. The apoptosis rates of hypoxic neurons and SK‐N‐SH cells as well as activated‐caspase‐3 level were obviously increased after KIF2 silencing. Furthermore, we found that the nuclear factor‐kappa B (NF‐κB) pathway was involved in KIF2‐mediated neuroprotection after cerebral I/R injury, and induced apoptosis of hypoxic SK‐N‐SH cells by KIF2 silencing could be attenuated by the specific inhibitor BAY11‐7082 of NF‐κB. In conclusion, we demonstrate that KIF2 could mediate the neuroprotection in cerebral I/R injury by inhibiting activation of NF‐κB pathway. This might provide a novel therapeutic target for cerebral I/R injury.
Forty years of irrigation development and reform in China
Authors: Wang Jinxia , Zhu Yunyun , Sun Tianhe , Huang Jikun , Zhang Lijuan , Guan Baozhu , Huang Qiuqiong
Published: September 2019

This study reviews 40 years of irrigation development in China including the transformation of the institutional and incentive structures in irrigation management. After rural reforms in the 1970s, irrigation investments slowed until the late 1990s. In North China, farmers became major investors in groundwater irrigation, leading to property rights’ transfer of tube wells from collective to private ownership. Despite positive effects in cropping patterns, farmer income and development of groundwater markets, privatisation has accelerated groundwater table deterioration. Since the middle of 1990s, Water User Associations have replaced village collective management of surface irrigation. This approach was adopted by most provinces by early 2001 with mixed results; only institutions with water‐saving incentives realised efficient irrigation. The Government is reforming water price policies to provide water‐saving incentives to farmers while not hurting their income. While China has focused on water rights and markets, and despite regulations and pilot projects, full implementation of water rights has been slow. Research reveals greater policy scope for expanding irrigation technologies that generate real water saving to rural areas. Given pressure associated with water scarcity and concern for food security, further effective reforms in irrigation and policy incentives are expected. The Government has also initiated some pilot projects to resolve increasing water scarcity problems through adjusting agricultural production activities.
In vitro characterisation of probiotic properties of Enterococcus faecium and Enterococcus durans strains isolated from raw milk and traditional dairy products
Authors: Yerlikaya Oktay , Akbulut Necati
Published: September 2019

In this study, some probiotic characteristics such as antimicrobial activity, vancomycin resistance, growth ability at pH, resistance to bile salts, bile salt deconjugation and hydrophobicity of 30 Enterococcus faecium and Enterococcus durans strains isolated and identified from raw milk and various dairy products were investigated. According to the study results, antimicrobial activity profiling, pH and bile salt resistance and bile salt deconjugation ability of Enterococcus strains varied depending on the species and strains and all the strains showed resistance to the tested bile salt concentrations. It was concluded that the E. faecium and E. durans strains tested showed probiotic characteristics and have the potential to be used in food production.
How far can brands go to defend themselves? The extent of negative publicity impact on proactive consumer behaviors and brand equity
Authors: Woo Hongjoo , Jung Sojin , Jin Byoungho Ellie
Published: September 2019

Negative publicity, defined as the public disclosure of a problematic incident associated with a brand, is a critical issue for fashion brands, as it vitiates the image of targeted brands and drives consumers’ voice and exit behaviors. Despite the impact of negative publicity, few studies have compared the impact of product‐related versus personnel‐related negative publicity, or explored the extent to which brands’ coping strategies can prevent consumers’ anti‐brand behavioral intentions and recover brand equity. This study used multivariate analyses of variance to analyze responses from 594 American consumers, which revealed that when negative publicity is about a product‐related issue, none of the brand's different recovery efforts are effective in decreasing consumers’ voice and exit intentions and protecting brand equity. However, for a personnel‐related issue, functional and informational recovery strategies were effective in decreasing consumer voice and exit intentions, and affective, functional, and informational recovery strategies positively impacted most domains of brand equity (brand judgement, brand feelings, and brand resonance). The following analysis of variance and post hoc analyses revealed the comparative effectiveness of specific recovery types. Discussions and implications of the findings are provided.
Examining the multidimensional role of self‐efficacy for writing on student writing self‐regulation and grades in elementary and high school
Authors: Zumbrunn Sharon , Broda Michael , Varier Divya , Conklin Sarah
Published: September 2019

Background

The powerful role of self‐efficacy on student achievement is clear. Less clear, however, is our understanding of the specific roles of the different factors of writing self‐efficacy on student writing self‐regulation and success.

Aims

This study expands our knowledge about student writing self‐efficacy – including its dimensions and the relationship between its dimensions and practical writing outcomes with students from different age groups.

Sample

Participants were 992 elementary and 518 high school students across 65 teachers and 6 schools in the United States.

Methods

Data were collected via online questionnaires, one assessing student writing self‐efficacy and the others teachers’ reports of student writing self‐regulation and writing/ELA grades.

Results

Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) results demonstrated significantly improved model fit for a three‐factor model of writing self‐efficacy compared to a one‐factor model. A measurement invariance analysis of the writing self‐efficacy scale indicated scalar invariance between the elementary and secondary samples. Structural equation modelling (SEM) results indicated that the second self‐efficacy factor, self‐efficacy for writing conventions, was statistically significantly related to writing/ELA grades for elementary students (β = .33,p < .001) as well as for high school students (β = .27,p < .01). Conventions were also the only factor statistically significantly related to teacher‐reported student writing self‐regulation for both elementary students (β = .26,p < .01) and high school students (β = .37,p < .001). Self‐efficacy for ideation and self‐efficacy for self‐regulation were not found to be significantly related to either student writing/ELA grades or teacher‐reported self‐regulation (allps > .19).

Conclusions

Results support the multidimensionality of writing self‐efficacy. In addition, findings emphasize a meaningful link between students’ beliefs in their ability to conform to the rules of writing and their writing self‐regulation and success.
Combining diversity and dispersion criteria for anticlustering: A bicriterion approach
Authors: Brusco Michael J. , Cradit J. Dennis , Steinley Douglas
Published: September 2019

Most partitioning methods used in psychological research seek to produce homogeneous groups (i.e., groups with low intra‐group dissimilarity). However, there are also applications where the goal is to provide heterogeneous groups (i.e., groups with high intra‐group dissimilarity). Examples of these anticlustering contexts include construction of stimulus sets, formation of student groups, assignment of employees to project work teams, and assembly of test forms from a bank of items. Unfortunately, most commercial software packages are not equipped to accommodate the objective criteria and constraints that commonly arise for anticlustering problems. Two important objective criteria for anticlustering based on information in a dissimilarity matrix are: a diversity measure based on within‐cluster sums of dissimilarities; and a dispersion measure based on the within‐cluster minimum dissimilarities. In many instances, it is possible to find a partition that provides a large improvement in one of these two criteria with little (or no) sacrifice in the other criterion. For this reason, it is of significant value to explore the trade‐offs that arise between these two criteria. Accordingly, the key contribution of this paper is the formulation of a bicriterion optimization problem for anticlustering based on the diversity and dispersion criteria, along with heuristics to approximate the Pareto efficient set of partitions. A motivating example and computational study are provided within the framework of test assembly.
Intracardiac flow analysis in cardiac resynchronization therapy: A new challenge?
Authors: Mele Donato , Smarrazzo Vittorio , Pedrizzetti Gianni , Bertini Matteo , Ferrari Roberto
Published: September 2019

In the past years, assessment of cardiac function has become possible through the analysis of intracardiac flow dynamics, performed noninvasively using phase‐contrast cardiac magnetic resonance and contrast and noncontrast ultrasound techniques. From 2013 to 2019, 9 echocardiographic investigations have considered 215 patients with cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) as a model for assessing flow dynamics within the left ventricle. Preliminary results have been reported about the acute hemodynamic effects of CRT and programming of the CRT device, showing the potential of an approach based on analysis of intracardiac flows. At present, there are only scarce data on the capability of intracardiac flow dynamics to predict LV remodeling after CRT and no information on clinical outcome prediction. Future investigations should be aimed at clarifying the mechanisms and impact of maladaptive intracardiac vortex dynamics on progressive LV remodeling as well as the prognostic meaning of implanted CRT device based on cardiac flow analysis.
Ketamine inhibits LPS‐mediated BV2 microglial inflammation via NMDA receptor blockage
Authors: Lu Yaojun , Ding Xiaonan , Wu Xin , Huang Shaoqiang
Published: September 2019

Microglial inflammation leads to the upregulation of proinflammatory cytokine and proinflammatory enzyme expression, resulting in inflammation‐induced neuronal cell apoptosis. Ketamine, an anesthetic mostly used in critical patients, has been reported to possess neuroprotective effects. However, the potential mechanism is still not well understood. In the present study, we investigated how ketamine attenuates lipopolysaccharide (LPS)‐mediated BV2 cell inflammation. LPS upregulated proinflammatory cytokine and proinflammatory enzyme expression, increased NF‐κB phosphorylation and nuclear translocation, and augmented calcium (Ca2+)/calmodulin‐dependent protein kinase II (CaMK II) phosphorylation and Ca2+ levels in BV2 cells. Ketamine could reverse these LPS‐induced effects. Furthermore, AP5, an inhibitor of NMDA receptors, inhibited LPS‐induced inflammatory effects in BV2 cells, which was similar to the effects of ketamine. Moreover, these effects of ketamine against LPS‐mediated inflammation in BV2 cells could be reversed by D‐serine, an activator of NMDA receptors. The present study suggests that ketamine, by inhibiting NMDA receptors, attenuating Ca2+ levels, and inhibiting CaMK II phosphorylation, NF‐κB phosphorylation and nuclear translocation, may ameliorate LPS‐mediated inflammation in BV2 cells.
From Standpoint Epistemology to Epistemic Oppression
Authors: Toole Briana
Published: September 2019

Standpoint epistemology is committed to a cluster of views that pays special attention to the role of social identity in knowledge‐acquisition. Of particular interest here is the situated knowledge thesis. This thesis holds that for certain propositions p, whether an epistemic agent is in a position to know that p depends on some nonepistemic facts related to the epistemic agent's social identity. In this article, I examine two possible ways to interpret this thesis. My first goal here is to clarify existing interpretations of this thesis that appear in the literature but that are undeveloped and often mistakenly conflated. In so doing, I aim to make clear the different versions of standpoint epistemology that one might accept and defend.

This project is of significance, I argue, because standpoint epistemology provides helpful tools for understanding a phenomenon of recent interest: epistemic oppression. My second goal is to provide an analysis that makes clear how each of the readings I put forth can be used to illuminate forms of epistemic oppression.
Against “Transracialism”: Revisiting the Debate
Authors: Cattien Jana
Published: September 2019

This article critically reflects on some of the themes and assumptions at stake in the “transracialism” controversy, and connects them to important works in critical race theory: namely Rey Chow's notion of “coercive mimeticism” and Sara Ahmed's critique of white liberal multiculturalism. It argues that the analytic account of “race” that Tuvel draws upon in her article—Sally Haslanger's—is politically problematic, both on its own terms and in light of broader reflections on racialized and gendered power relations. In particular, I critique Haslanger's assumption that all racial identities exist on the same conceptual plane: that a single variable definition of “race” can be applied to any particular racialized group—including white and nonwhite racial identities. This erases racialized power relations, especially where, in liberal “multicultural” nations, whiteness constitutes the implied standard against which an appearance of “racial difference” is conjured. Finally, I extend my argument to the issue of treating “race” and gender analogously. Rejecting this move, I propose an alternative way of conceptualizing these as analytically distinct, yet constitutively interdependent, phenomena. In order to situate the debate historically, I consider an example of “racial transgression” from twentieth‐century China.