bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Digital Storytelling for Social Work Interventions
Authors: Chan Chitat , Yau Carmen
Published: May 2019

Digital storytelling is a storytelling method that is interwoven with digitized images, texts, sounds, and other interactive elements. It can be used for social work intervention purposes. Digital storytelling activities can be applied at different levels of practice: i) micro-level: individuals, families, and small groups; ii) meso-macro-level: community, organization, society, and culture; and iii) multiple-level: targeting micro, meso, and macro levels in the same intervention. Digital storytelling practice emerged with the advent of accessible media production hardware, editing software, and media sharing platforms. In addition, there are sustainable organizations that have gradually developed their unique methods and funding models. This growing network has popularized the concept of digital storytelling. Further, there are academic networks studying the phenomenon, which have further positioned the field in scholarly discussion. Digital storytelling faces challenges that are common to all other forms of technology application in social work, but a key debate is over the extent to which digital stories are representations of service users’ voices. Since digital storytelling practices adopt diverse terminologies with various media tools and methods, future research is suggested to have rigorous experimental designs, theoretically based research, and critical appraisal of its effectiveness. The references here were selected based on their quality, as well as their contrasting differences. In order to illustrate the development of the field, the annotated references introduced are generally discussed in a chronological order.
Plea Bargaining
Authors: Helm Rebecca K.
Published: May 2019

Plea bargaining is a process in the criminal justice system through which a defendant agrees to plead guilty to a specified criminal charge in exchange for a concession from the prosecution. This may include the prosecution ceasing to pursue any other criminal charges against the defendant, or recommending a more lenient sentence than they would have recommended otherwise. Although other jurisdictions allow sentence or charge reductions in exchange for guilty pleas (which can be referred to as plea bargaining), plea bargaining is typically associated with the United States system, and is used most extensively in the United States. This bibliography will focus on plea bargaining in the United States, bringing in global comparisons where relevant. In the United States, the constitutionality of plea bargaining was established in 1970 in the case of Brady v. United States, 397 U.S. 742 (1970). Today, plea bargaining is permitted in all states as well as in the federal system, and although there are some differences in regulation of pleas in each jurisdiction, plea bargaining is typically viewed as an essential and permanent component of the criminal justice system. Prosecutors are able to grant enticing concessions to incentivize defendants to plead guilty. In this context, the vast majority of criminal convictions occur as the result of guilty pleas, rather than jury trials. Currently, guilty pleas account for around 97 percent of criminal convictions at the federal level. However, the practice of plea bargaining has been the subject of debate among academics and legal practitioners. On the one hand, plea bargaining facilitates an efficient criminal justice system. Through increasing the number of cases resolved via guilty plea rather than trial, plea bargaining conserves resources, protects victims from the traumas involved in trial, and provides benefits to defendants through sentence or charge reductions. Many commentators believe that the US criminal justice system would be unsustainable without the vast majority of cases being resolved via guilty plea. However, the largely unregulated nature of the plea-bargaining system and particularly the concessions that can be offered by prosecutors in exchange for guilty pleas has led to a critical view of the practice from many commentators, who associate the practice with overzealous prosecution, wrongful conviction, and rights violations. Research suggests that the concessions offered by prosecutors in exchange for guilty pleas are leading to innocent, as well as guilty, defendants pleading guilty. This is known as plea bargaining’s “innocence problem.” As of 2018, the Innocence Project noted that 18 percent of known exonerees in the United States had originally pleaded guilty to the crime that they were accused of. Research examining plea bargaining includes traditional and empirical legal research, and, increasingly, social-science research examining the decision-making of defendants in the plea bargaining context.
Philip Melanchthon
Authors: Kolb Robert A.
Published: May 2019

While a student at the Universities of Heidelberg and Tübingen, Philip Melanchthon (b. 1497–d. 1560) had won recognition for his abilities as a promulgator of the reforms of the biblical humanistic movement. That reputation propelled him into a professorship at the infant University of Wittenberg in 1518. His primary assignment was to teach Greek and other courses in the Arts faculty, but in 1519 he received the first theology degree, which expanded his responsibilities to include lecturing on the Bible. As a key member of that university, he taught theology and also lectured on several texts and topics in the liberal arts (including Aristotle’s De anima), which continued until his death in 1560. His contributions to the liberal arts, especially in rhetoric and dialectic, but also in refining methods of text analysis and teaching in all branches of learning, were more than equaled by his achievements in biblical interpretation and in the formulation of the dogmatic system that prepared his students for preaching and teaching the faith through the topical method of organizing knowledge of scripture and the Christian tradition. He composed The Augsburg Confession, The Apology of the Augsburg Confession, and The Treatise on the Power and Primacy of the Pope, which became part of the secondary authority for public teaching in the Lutheran churches. He also served as an ecclesiastical diplomat and counselor on public policy for the electors of Saxony and for the Smalcald League. His later years were marred by criticism from former students, including those to whom he had been very close, whom he disappointed by working with Moritz of Saxony, who had aided the Habsburgs in the defeat of Melanchthon’s former elector, Johann Friedrich, in the Smalcald War (1546–1547). They felt betrayed by his involvement in formulating a compromise policy that was intended to simulate electoral Saxon compliance with imperial commands to return to submission to the papacy while preserving what Luther and Melanchthon had taught in the 1520s, 1530s, and 1540s. His disputed reputation perhaps contributed to the relative dearth of larger scholarly studies of his thought or his multifaceted public career. Much of the scholarship published in what might be called a modest “Melanchthon Renaissance” of the last half century has taken form in essays rather than books, as this bibliography indicates.
Atlantic Creoles
Authors: Chira Adriana
Published: May 2019

Berlin 1996 (cited under Overviews) introduced the term “Atlantic Creoles” to describe Afro-descendants whose experiences in the age of the Atlantic slave trade were not primarily defined by the plantation. According to Berlin, Atlantic Creoles distinguished themselves through behaviors that “were more akin to those of confident, sophisticated natives than of vulnerable newcomers.” They displayed “linguistic dexterity, cultural plasticity, and social agility.” The term “Creole” is supposed to denote transformations in identity through encounters across cultural difference. Berlin applied this term to a generation that preceded the consolidation of plantation systems (prior to the 18th century), even though he alluded to the possibility of using this concept spatially, too—to describe Afro-descendants living outside plantation systems as late as the end of the 18th century. Landers 1999 (cited under Overviews) took up this latter approach systematically. Scholars have since applied the label “Atlantic Creoles” broadly to cultural and political brokers who drew on repertoires from Africa, Europe, and the Americas as seamen, traders, diplomats, litigants, settlers, wives, workers, or healers. According to Berlin, the term was not meant to obscure the violence that Afro-descendants were subjected to, but to capture a historical moment when racial categories were more fluid and some could access opportunities. Berlin’s piece has a vast legacy. It drew attention to an array of Afro-diasporic experiences and emphasized the role of West Africans in the making of early Atlantic networks. Since 1996, attention to Africans in Atlantic networks has expanded. Scholars have also examined more closely how their actions and trajectories can shed light on the arc of African history, not just the American one. Yet some scholars have critiqued the term “Atlantic Creoles” for excessive capaciousness. In Ferreira 2012 (cited under 18th Century and the Age of Revolutions), Roquinaldo Ferreira argues that it obliterates the specificity of African experiences within pluralistic communities in Africa. Other scholars have critiqued it for romanticizing mobility and insertion into state apparatuses. Upward mobility for some Afro-descendants could often only come with fewer opportunities for enslaved people. Finally, the term assumes a somewhat linear identity formation. In Sweet 2013 (cited under Healing, Religion, and Science), James Sweet argues that historians too often assume that Creole Afro-descendant identities move away from African cosmologies toward Western ones.
The Harms and Prevention of Drugs and Alcohol on Children
Authors: Enser Briony , Foxcroft David
Published: May 2019

Children risk harming themselves when they consume drugs or alcohol, as these psychoactive substances are associated with numerous adverse effects on their physical and psychological health and well-being. Children may also be profoundly affected by the misuse of drugs or alcohol by the people responsible for their care, most often parents. This too can also seriously affect their health and well-being, and all aspects of family life can be severely affected by substance misuse. The potential harms to children are both short and long term, and may have irrevocable consequences, whether these arise from consumption by the children themselves or from the collateral harms caused by their carers’ consumption. The range of psychoactive substances used recreationally is extensive in type and strength and thus in relative potential harm. It includes opioids, cocaine, LSD, ecstasy, cannabis, alcohol, and tobacco. Alcohol, tobacco, and cannabis are the substances most commonly used by both adults and children. Across the world, psychoactive substances other than alcohol and tobacco are widely illegal, although many so-called legal highs (Novel Psychoactive Substances) can be found in countries where legislation has not kept up with the pace of development of novel substances. Moreover, some legally prescribed drugs, such as benzodiazepines, may be used illegally without a prescription. None are without attendant risks. While alcohol and tobacco are widely legal, most countries regulate their production, purchase, and use, in part with a view to protecting children. A minimum age is usually specified for their legal purchase and, for tobacco, many developed countries now ban smoking in all enclosed public spaces to protect both the adults and children around the users. Broadly speaking, around three quarters of adults, outside “dry” countries, consume alcohol, so most children grow up in an environment where alcohol use by parents is normalized. Around a quarter of adults smoke tobacco, so proportionately fewer children are similarly exposed to parental use. Figures for adult use of illicit drugs vary, but around 1% of children probably grow up with parental drug use. This article addresses the use and known harms to children from legal and illegal substances. The readings included provide a selection of the available literature. For the purposes of these readings, “children” is interpreted to address individuals aged up to 18 years of age, including fetuses in utero, and the known effects of alcohol and drugs on this age group. However, the citations used may define “children” in other ways and may include age ranges that extend beyond 18.
Peninsular War
Authors: Esdaile Charles J.
Published: May 2019

The Peninsular War is the name given to the struggle that raged in Spain and Portugal between the forces of Napoleon Bonaparte and those of Britain, Spain, and Portugal. In brief, in the early summer of 1808, Napoleon’s decision to overthrow the Spanish Bourbons produced a major revolt against the French troops that had been in occupation of parts of the Iberian peninsula since October 1807, the result being a long, drawn-out struggle that culminated in the expulsion of the French from the peninsula by the Anglo-Portuguese army of the Duke of Wellington in the autumn of 1813. However, this was not just a matter of regular armies fighting pitched battles. On the contrary, the French were also faced by a long guerrilla struggle. Traditionally, this has been envisaged in terms of patriotic bands of armed civilians that inflicted huge casualties on the invaders. Yet, as will be shown, modern research has completely undermined these ideas: while the French did indeed face a “little war” in Spain, this was much more the work of regular troops than bands of irregulars, the latter accounting for only a limited number of French casualties and in practice being mere bandits. Particularly in Spain, meanwhile, there has also been much concentration on the manner in which the rising of 1808 unleashed a political and social chain reaction that initiated the destruction of the antiguo régimen via the promulgation of the famous constitution of 1812. Thanks, meanwhile, to the recent bicentenary of the conflict—an event marked in Spain and Portugal alike by numerous scholarly meetings and a positive tidal wave of publications—all these debates have been revived. If this article will bear witness to past controversies, then it will also do so in respect of ones that are far more recent. Inevitably, bibliographies reflect gaps in the literature as much as they do its strengths. Here, particular mention ought to be made of Portugal. Lamentably, no anglophone historian has seen fit to address the Portuguese experience of the Peninsular War, while the Portuguese historiography, itself not especially abundant, is not much known beyond Portugal’s frontiers. If there is one area of the subject that is awaiting its British or American historian, this is it, and it is much to be hoped that one of the effects of this article will be to nudge some young scholar in that direction.
The Tokyo Trials
Authors: Sellars Kirsten
Published: May 2019

Of the postwar trials convened in Tokyo to try Japanese leaders for crimes relating to the war in Asia and the Pacific, by far the longest and most far-reaching was the International Military Tribunal for the Far East (“Tokyo Tribunal”). There, the eleven Allied prosecuting powers charged twenty-eight Japanese defendants—former prime ministers, cabinet ministers, military leaders, diplomats, and ideologues—with being members of a militarist clique that had purposefully perpetrated a huge conspiracy, dating from 1 January 1928 to 2 September 1945, to secure “the military, naval, political and economic domination of East Asia, and of the Pacific and Indian Oceans.” This trial, much criticized at the time, and still much criticized today for its retroactive charges and procedural shortcomings, concluded with the handing down of Sentences in November 1948. Yet the Tribunal was not the only one convened in Tokyo dealing with crimes relating to the war. In the months before the proceedings opened, the Japanese ran their own trials, hoping to settle accounts on their own terms before the Allies took over. And in 1949, after the Tribunal had closed, the Americans convened two more trials in Tokyo, Tamura and Toyoda, also presided over by Allied judges. By this time, though, new Cold War priorities had taken hold, and the Allies’ appetite for prosecuting the Japanese had diminished: the Toyoda trial was the last of its kind to be convened in Japan.
Job protection deregulation in good and bad times
Authors: Duval Romain , Furceri Davide , Jalles Joao
Published: May 2019

This paper explores the short-term employment effect of deregulating job protection for regular workers and how it varies with prevailing business cycle conditions. We apply the local projection method to a newly constructed dataset of major regular job protection reforms covering 26 advanced economies over the past four decades. The analysis relies on country-sector-level data, using as identifying assumption the fact that stringent dismissal regulations are more binding in sectors that are characterized by a higher ‘natural’ propensity to make regular adjustments to the workforce. We find that the response of sectoral employment to deregulation depends crucially on the state of the economy at the time of reform—deregulation increases employment if implemented during an economic expansion, but reduces employment if carried out in a recession. These findings are consistent with theory and are robust to a battery of sensitivity checks.
BTB-BACK Domain E3 Ligase MdPOB1 Suppresses Plant Pathogen Defense against Botryosphaeria dothidea by Ubiquitinating and Degrading MdPUB29 Protein in Apple
Authors: Han Peng-Liang , Wang Chu-Kun , Liu Xiao-Juan , Dong Yuan-Hua , Jiang Han , Hu Da-Gang , Hao Yu-Jin
Published: May 2019

Apple ring rot is a severe disease that affects the yield and quality of apple fruits worldwide. However, the underlying molecular mechanism that involved in this process still remains largely unexplored. Here, we report that apple POZ/BTB CONTAINING-PROTEIN 1 (MdPOB1), a BTB-BACK domain E3 ligase protein, functions to suppress apple pathogen defense against Botryosphaeria dothidea (B. dothidea). Both in vitro and in vivo assays indicated that MdPOB1 interacted directly with and degraded apple U-box E3 ligase MdPUB29, a well-established positive regulator of plant innate immunity, through the ubiquitin/26S proteasome pathway. A series of transgenic analyses in apple fruits demonstrated that MdPOB1 affected apple pathogen defense against B. dothidea at least partially, if not completely, via regulating MdPUB29. Additionally, it was found that the apple pathogen defense against B. dothidea was correlated with the H2O2 contents and the relative expression of salicylic acid (SA) synthesis- and SA signaling-related genes, which might be regulated via degradation of MdPUB29 by MdPOB1. Overall, our findings provide new insights into the mechanism of the MdPOB1 modulation of apple ring rot resistance, which occur by directly regulating potential downstream target protein MdPUB29 for proteasomal degradation in apple.
Being Healthy, Being Sick, Being Responsible: Attitudes towards Responsibility for Health in a Public Healthcare System
Authors: Traina Gloria , Martinussen Pål E , Feiring Eli
Published: May 2019

Lifestyle-induced diseases are becoming a burden on healthcare, actualizing the discussion on health responsibilities. Using data from the National Association for Heart and Lung Diseases (LHL)’s 2015 Health Survey (N = 2689), this study examined the public’s attitudes towards personal and social health responsibility in a Norwegian population. The questionnaires covered self-reported health and lifestyle, attitudes towards personal responsibility and the authorities’ responsibility for promoting health, resource-prioritisation and socio-demographic characteristics. Block-wise multiple linear regression assessed the association between attitudes towards health responsibilities and individual lifestyle, political orientation and health condition. We found a moderate support for social responsibility across political views. Respondents reporting unhealthier eating habits, smokers and physically inactive were less supportive of health promotion policies (including information, health incentives, prevention and regulations). The idea that individuals are responsible for taking care of their health was widely accepted as an abstract ideal. Yet, only a third of the respondents agreed with introducing higher co-payments for treatment of ‘self-inflicted’ conditions and levels of support were patterned by health-related behaviour and left-right political orientation. Our study suggests that a significant support for social responsibility does not exclude a strong support for personal health responsibility. However, conditional access to healthcare based on personal lifestyle is still controversial.
North Atlantic right whale (Eubalaena glacialis) and its food: (I) a spatial climatology of Calanus biomass and potential foraging habitats in Canadian waters
Authors: Plourde S , Lehoux C , Johnson C L , Perrin G , Lesage V
Published: May 2019

This study aimed at identifying potentially suitable foraging habitats for the North Atlantic right whale (NARW; Eubalaena glacialis) in the Gulf of St Lawrence (GSL), on the Scotian Shelf (SS) and in the Bay of Fundy (BoF), Canada, based on the distribution densities of their main prey, Calanus copepod species. More than 4800 historical Calanus spp. water column integrated samples as well as 221 vertically stratified sampling stations were used to create a 3D (latitude, longitude and vertical) climatology of Calanus spp. biomass densities for spring and summer–fall when NARW are feeding in Canadian waters. We then combined this 3D preyscape with bio-energetic considerations to highlight potentially suitable NARW foraging habitats in the region. Our 3D climatological approach successfully identified the known feeding areas of Grand Manan (BoF) and Roseway Basin (western SS), confirming its validity. Expanding our analyses to the GSL and other parts of the SS, we identified in both regions areas previously unknown where Calanus spp. biomass densities exceeded minimum levels suitable for foraging NARW. Our results represent a key contribution to the identification of important foraging areas for NARW in Canadian waters, especially in the context of climate change and the documented shift in NARW distribution.
Dynamical mass generation in QED$_3$: A non-perturbative approach
Authors: de Gracia G B , Pimentel B M , Rabanal L
Published: May 2019

In this work we provide a non-perturbative description of the phenomenon of dynamical mass generation in the case of quantum electrodynamics in $2+1$ dimensions. We will use the Kugo–Ojima–Nakanishi formalism to conclude that the physical Hilbert space of the asymptotic photon field is the same as that of the Maxwell–Chern–Simons.
Quantifying Control Efficacy of Fungicides Commonly Applied for Potato Early Blight Management
Authors: Yellareddygari S. K. R. , Taylor Raymond J. , Pasche Julie S. , Gudmestad Neil C.
Published: May 2019

Early blight is an economically important foliar disease of potato in the United States. Because of the lack of resistant potato cultivars, fungicides are applied extensively to obtain adequate control. To manage early blight, standard protectant fungicides and single-site mode-of-action “specialty” fungicides are applied either alone or incorporated into a fungicide rotation program. Control efficacy at two crop growth stages (tuber initiation/early bulking and late bulking/tuber maturation) and the overall tuber yield response to standard and specialty fungicides were assessed using network metaanalytic models. Control efficacy of fungicides ranged from moderate to very high (>30 to 75%) compared with the nontreated control. For both potato growth stages, specialty fungicides performed better than standard protectant fungicides. Furthermore, control efficacy of both fungicides was higher (3 to 9%) at late bulking and tuber maturation when compared with early bulking crop growth stage. Specialty fungicide programs increased overall tuber yields by 4 and 9% over standard fungicides and nontreated control, respectively. Based on the results, more precise fungicide use recommendations and fungicide programs can be developed for early blight management.
Thladiantha Dubia Mosaic Virus: A Novel Potyvirus Infecting Manchurian Tubergourd (Thladiantha dubia) in Northeast China
Authors: Zhao Na , Zheng Baojiang , Lin Baoxiang , Zhao Min , Jiang Lude
Published: May 2019

A new virus with flexuous, filamentous particles approximately 650 nm long was discovered in Manchurian tubergourd (Thladiantha dubia Bunge) leaves exhibiting severe mosaic symptoms. The whole genome sequence of the virus was determined by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RACE). The entire genome consisted of 10,112 nucleotides (nt) excluding the poly (A) tail, which shared the highest nucleotide sequence identity (73.8%) with that of papaya leaf distortion mosaic virus Hainan-DF isolate (PLDMV-Hainan-DF). A phylogenetic analysis showed that this virus clustered with PLDMV isolates in a subbranch within the potyviral clade. Of the 23 species of indicator plants tested, only potato and its original host were systemically infected by the virus tested upon mechanical inoculation. A field survey showed that the virus was widely distributed on T. dubia and potatoes in Northeast China. Moreover, this virus displayed a high degree of genetic variation as evaluated by the sequences of the coat protein (CP) gene. Based on these results, the name Thladiantha dubia mosaic virus (ThDMV) is proposed for this new potyvirus.
The Impact of Psychological Interventions on Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Pain Symptoms
Authors: Goldstein Ellen , McDonnell Christina , Atchley Rachel , Dorado Kathleen , Bedford Carter , Brown Roger L. , Zgierska Aleksandra E.
Published: May 2019

Objectives:

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and pain often co-occur, introducing clinical challenges and economic burden. Psychological treatments are considered effective for each condition, yet it is not known which therapies have the potential to concurrently address PTSD and pain-related symptoms.

Materials and Methods:

To conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis, databases were searched for articles published between January 2007 and December 2017 describing results from clinical trials of interventions addressing PTSD and pain-related symptoms in adults. Two independent reviewers finalized data extraction and risk of bias assessments. A random-effects model was used for meta-analysis and to calculate pooled and subgroup effect sizes (ESs) of psychological-only (single modality) and multimodal interventions.

Results:

Eighteen trials (7 uncontrolled, 11 randomized controlled trials, RCTs), totaling 1583 participants, were included in the systematic review. RCT intervention types included exposure-based, cognitive-behavioral, and mindfulness-based therapies. Data from 10 RCTs (N=1, 35) were available for meta-analysis, which demonstrated moderate effect for reduced PTSD severity (ES=−0.55, confidence interval [CI]: −0.83, −0.26) and nonsignificant effect for pain intensity (ES=−0.14, CI: −0.43, 0.15) and pain interference (ES=−0.07, CI: −0.35, 0.20) outcomes. Findings from uncontrolled trials supported meta-analytic results from RCTs. Using GRADE assessment, the quality of evidence was deemed as moderate for RCTs and low for non-RCTs.

Discussion:

Findings indicated that the majority of the interventions appeared to have a greater impact on reducing PTSD rather than pain-related symptoms. There remains a need to further develop interventions that consistently impact PTSD and pain-related outcomes when these 2 conditions co-occur.
The Effect of Depth of Anesthesia on Hemodynamic Changes Induced by Therapeutic Compression of the Trigeminal Ganglion
Authors: Wang Chang-Ming , Guan Zhan-Ying , Wang Quan-Cai , Zhang Jing , Ma Yi , Zhao Ping
Published: May 2019

Background:

Percutaneous compression of the trigeminal ganglion (PCTG) has been used to treat trigeminal neuralgia since 1983. A PCTG-related trigeminocardiac reflex (TCR) can induce dramatic hemodynamic disturbances. This study investigates the effects of depth of propofol anesthesia on hemodynamic changes during PCTG.

Materials and Methods:

A total of 120 patients who underwent PTCG for trigeminal neuralgia were randomly assigned to control group-intravenous saline pretreatment before PCTG puncture and anesthesia targeted to bispectral index (BIS) 40 to 60 throughout, and study group-intravenous propofol 1 to 2 mg/kg pretreatment to deepen anesthesia to BIS<40 before PCTG. Mean arterial pressure, heart rate (HR), cardiac output, system vascular resistance, and BIS were measured at 9 time points during the procedure, and the incidence of the TCR was observed at T5and T6.

Results:

BIS was lower in the study group compared with the control after pretreatment with propofol or saline, respectively. Compared with the control group, mean arterial pressure was lower in the study group at several points during the procedure, but there was no difference in HR between the 2 groups at any point. Cardiac output was higher and system vascular resistance lower in the study compared with the control group. In the control group, 42 (70.0%) and 52 (86.7%) of patients developed a TCR at the 2 points, and 37 (67.1%) and 45 (75.0%) in the study group. There was no difference in the incidence of TCR between the 2 groups.

Conclusion:

Increasing the depth of propofol anesthesia partially attenuated PTCG-related elevation of blood pressure but did not modify the abrupt reduction in HR.
Health Care Utilization and Payments of Postoperative and Drug Abuse-Related Spinal Infections
Authors: Alhourani Ahmad , Dietz Nicholas , Sharma Mayur , Ugiliweneza Beatrice , Wang Dengzhi , Nuño Miriam , Drazin Doniel , Boakye Maxwell
Published: May 2019

Study Design.

Retrospective analysis of data extracted from the MarketScan database (2000–2016) using International Classification of Diseases (ICD)-9, ICD-10, and Current Procedural Terminology-4 codes.

Objective.

Evaluate the economic costs and health care utilization associated with spine infections.

Summary of Background Data.

Spinal infections (SI) are associated with significant morbidity and mortality. A recent spike in SI is attributed to the drug abuse epidemic. Management of SI represents a large burden on the health care system.

Methods.

We assessed payments and outcomes at the index hospitalization, 1-, 3-, 6-, and 12-month follow up. Outcomes assessed included length of stay, complications, operation rates, and health care utilization. Outcomes were compared between cohorts with spinal infections: (1) with prior surgery, (2) drug abuse, and (3) without previous exposure to surgery or drug abuse, denoted as control.

Results.

We identified 43,972 patients; 15.6% (N = 6847) of patients underwent prior surgery, 3.8% (N = 1,668) were previously expose to drug abuse while 80.6% fell into the control group. Both the postsurgical and drug abuse groups longer hospital stay compared with the control cohort (5 d vs. 4 d, P < 0.0001). Exposure to IV drug abuse was associated with increased risk of complications compared with the control group (43% vs. 38%, P < 0.0001). Payments at 1-month follow-up were significantly (P < 0.0001) higher among the postsurgical group compared with both groups. However, at 12-months follow-up, payments were significantly (P < 0.0001) higher in the drug abuse group compared with both groups. Only postsurgical infections were associated with higher number of surgical interventions both at presentation and 1 year follow up.

Conclusion.

SI following surgery or IV drug abuse are associated with higher payments, complication rates, and longer hospital stays. Drug abuse related SI are associated with the highest complication rates, readmissions, and overall payments at 1 year of follow up despite the lower rate of surgical interventions.

Level of Evidence: 3
Preferential Homing of Tumor-specific and Functional CD8+ Stem Cell-like Memory T Cells to the Bone Marrow
Authors: Wu Kang , Li Yongchao , Zhang Shaoying , Zhou Nan , Liu Bingfeng , Pan Ting , Zhang Xu , Luo Haihua , Huang Zhaofeng , Li Xuefeng , Zhang Hui , Zhang Junsong
Published: May 2019

The bone marrow (BM) harbors not only hematopoietic stem cells but also conventional memory T and B cells. Studies of BM-resident memory T cells have revealed the complex relationship between BM and immunologic memory. In the present study, we identified CD122high stem cells antigen-1 (Sca-1)high, B-cell lymphoma protein-2 (Bcl-2)high, CD8+ stem cell-like memory T cells (TSCMs) as a distinct memory T-cell subset preferentially residing in the BM, where these cells respond vigorously to blood-borne antigens. We found that the most TSCMs favorably relocate to the BM by adhesion molecules such as vascular cell adhesion protein 1, P-selectin glycoprotein 1, and P-selectin or E-selectin. Moreover, the BM-resident TSCMs exhibited much higher levels of antitumor activity than the spleen-resident TSCMs. These results indicate that the BM provides an appropriate microenvironment for the survival of CD8+ TSCMs, thereby broadening our knowledge of the memory maintenance of antigen-specific CD8+ T lymphocytes. The present findings are expected to be instructive for the development of tumor immunotherapy.
“Acquired” NKG2D Ligand Stimulates NK Cell–mediated Tumor Immunosurveillance
Authors: Wang Dongfang , Gu Xiuling , Liu Xinjun , Liu Xiaoman , Wang Bin , Lao Fengxue , Fang Min
Published: May 2019

Engagement of activating receptor NKG2D to its ligand mediates natural killer (NK) cell activation and enhances cytotoxicity. NKG2D ligands (NKG2DLs) are frequently expressed on the tumor cell surface. However, the expression patterns of different NKG2DLs vary between tumor cells. Downregulation of certain ligand enables the tumor cells to escape NK cell–mediated immunosurveillance. By generating tumor cell lines with high expression of NKG2D ligand MULT1, we aimed to explore the function of NKG2DLs diversity on the activation and regulation of NKG2D signaling pathway. NK cells were potently activated by the “acquired” MULT1 expression on MOVCAR 5009 cells. Further, the progression of the tumor was significantly inhibited in mice inoculated with MULT1-expressing MOVCAR 5009 cells. Also, the pulmonary metastasis of MULT1-expressing B16-F0 cells was also significantly reduced in vivo. Our results implied that “acquired” NKG2D ligands enhance antitumor responses of NK cells, providing insights for designing novel therapeutic strategies and drugs to enhance NK cell surveillance over malignances.
The Experience of Acute Mechanical Ventilation From the Patient's Perspective
Authors: Roberts Melanie , Bortolotto Shannon Johnson , Weyant Ruth A. , Jock Leighann , LaLonde Trent , Henderson Ann
Published: May 2019

Background

The Pain, Agitation, and Delirium guidelines influenced practice to support targeted, light sedation for the mechanically ventilated patient. This practice is associated with improved clinical outcomes, but it remains unclear how it impacts the patient experience.

Objective

The objective was to determine the pervasive patient experience components and how the experience may have been influenced by targeted, light sedation practices.

Methods

A prospective observational study using mixed methodology and a convenience sample was conducted after institutional review board approval was obtained. Inclusion criteria were the following: acute mechanical ventilation of less than 14 days, 18 years or older and able to provide consent, English speaking, and delirium-free. Exclusion criteria were the presence of delirium or intravenous opioids/sedatives within 24 hours prior to the interview. The quantitative component included simple yes or no questions and identification of quantitative adjectives describing the mechanical ventilation experience. Every 10th patient was invited to participate in an expanded qualitative interview.

Results

Data were collected for 12 months with a total sample size of 130 patients participating in the quantitative component and a subset of 15 patients also participating in the qualitative interview. Sixty percent of the total sample consisted of cardiothoracic surgery patients, and 40% were mixed intensive care unit patient populations. Descriptive statistics include the following averaged values: Richmond Agitation Sedation Scale scores −1.7 throughout mechanical ventilation, aged 59.9 years, days mechanically ventilated 1.4, intensive care unit length of stay 4.6 days, and Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II score 16.1. The most significant finding was that 56.2% of patients who could not communicate reported feeling afraid, whereas 32.5% of those who could communicate reported feeling afraid (P < .027). The themes identified in the qualitative component of the study reinforced these quantitative findings; 10 of the 15 patients interviewed reported experiencing fear, and all of the patients reported issues with communication.

Discussion

The clinical implications of this research study primarily affect critical care nursing. Changes in nursing practice can address these findings to improve and more effectively acknowledge the patient experience.
Cognitive behavior therapy for menopausal symptoms (CBT-Meno): a randomized controlled trial
Authors: Green Sheryl M. , Donegan Eleanor , Frey Benicio N. , Fedorkow Donna M. , Key Brenda L. , Streiner David L. , McCabe Randi E.
Published: May 2019

Objective:

To evaluate the effectiveness of cognitive behavioral therapy for menopausal symptoms (CBT-Meno) compared with a waitlist condition (no active intervention). A randomized controlled trial was conducted with 71 perimenopausal or postmenopausal women who were seeking treatment for menopausal symptoms.

Methods:

Blind assessments were conducted at baseline, 12 weeks postbaseline, and 3 months post-treatment. An intention-to-treat analysis was conducted. CBT-Meno sessions included psychoeducation, and cognitive and behavioral strategies for vasomotor and depressive symptoms, anxiety, sleep difficulties, and sexual concerns. Primary outcomes were scores on the Hot Flash Related Daily Interference Scale (HFRDIS) and Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II). Secondary outcomes were scores assessing vasomotor and sexual concerns on the Greene Climacteric Scale (GCS-vm, GCS-sex), the Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS), Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAM-A), Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), and the Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI).

Results:

There were significantly greater improvements in CBT-Meno compared with waitlist in vasomotor symptom interference (HFRDIS; P < 0.001, η2

P
 = 0.21) and “bothersomeness” (GCS-vm; P = 0.04, η2

P
 = 0.06), depressive symptoms (BDI-II; P = 0.001, η2

P
 = 0.15), sleep difficulties (PSQI; P = 0.001, η2

P
 = 0.17), and sexual concerns (GCS-sex; P = 0.03, η2

P
 = 0.07). These results were found even when controlling for menopausal staging and medication use. Gains were maintained at 3 months post-treatment.

Conclusions:

CBT-Meno was particularly effective in improving self-reported vasomotor symptoms, depressive symptoms, sleep difficulties, and sexual concerns. Although future studies will be needed to confirm the impact of CBT-Meno on anxiety symptoms, these results suggest that this protocol is effective in targeting commonly reported menopausal symptoms.

Video Summary: Supplemental Digiatl Content 1, http://links.lww.com/MENO/A416
Techniques, Principles and Benchmarks in Asian Blepharoplasty
Authors: Chen William P. D.
Published: May 2019

Background:

Asian blepharoplasty is a deceptively simple procedure where the goal is to create an upper lid crease. The author presents a retrospective self-analysis of 362 cases performed over the past 12 years.

Methods:

362 cases that fits the inclusion criteria were tabulated into spreadsheet data format. Recorded were age, gender, date of service and follow-ups, whether the AB performed was for primary or revisional purpose; the preoperative lid crease status, the patient-chosen crease height as well as shape preferred. Intraoperative observation included presence or absence of preaponeurotic fat, whether partially resected, or reposited were noted.

Results:

Of 362 patients (724 upper lids), primary AB constituted 81% (295) and revisional AB contributed 19% (67). The gender distribution was 87% female (315) and 13% male (47). The age distribution ranged from 12 to 75 years. The crease height selected ranged from 6.0 to 8.0 mm, with the median being 7.0 mm. Of the crease shape chosen, parallel shape was 65% (236) and nasally-joining crease shape was 35% (126).

Conclusions:

Asian blepharoplasty via trapezoidal debulking of preaponeurotic platform is a safe, effective and anatomically-based technique that does not involve the use of permanent buried sutures. The article discussed the 5 essential factors (aponeurotic attachment, selective block clearance of preaponeurotic space, precise positioning of the crease formation loci, detection of latent droopy eyelids and avoidance of Faden-like suture effect) and the author’s benchmarks to achieve a better success rate. Results for primary and revisional Asian blepharoplasty, strategies and potential pitfalls are presented. (

JOURNAL/prcsgo/04.03/01720096-201905000-00006/inline-graphic1/v/2023-08-02T002938Z/r/image-tiff

http://links.lww.com/PRSGO/B141)
Failure to Rescue, Communication, and Safety Culture
Authors: LYNDON AUDREY
Published: May 2019

Failure to rescue refers to the inability to prevent death from health care complications. The fact that more than half of severe maternal morbidity and maternal deaths are classified as preventable, and black women have 2 to 3 times the risk for adjusted severe morbidity and maternal mortality suggest there is a problem with failure to rescue in US maternity care. This article reviews national efforts to improve rescue capacity in maternity care and data on communication breakdowns and disrespect in maternity care, and outlines individual and organizational actions that can be taken to improve communication and rescue processes.
LAMELLAR MACULAR HOLES IN THE PRESENCE OF AGE-RELATED MACULAR DEGENERATION
Authors: Francone Anibal , Yun Lisa , Kothari Nikisha , Cheng Iris , Farajzadeh Matthew , Govetto Andrea , Hubschman Jean-Pierre
Published: May 2019

Purpose:

To investigate whether age-related macular degeneration (AMD) has an influence on the prevalence and anatomical characteristics of lamellar macular holes (LMHs).

Methods:

Clinical records and spectral-domain optical coherence tomography images of 756 eyes of 423 consecutive patients diagnosed with AMD were reviewed and analyzed. Spectral-domain optical coherence tomography was used to identify degenerative or tractional LMH subtypes and assess their morphology. The clinical and optical coherence tomography findings of AMD eyes with LMH were compared with those of a control group of eyes with LMH without AMD from a previously published report.

Results:

Lamellar macular holes were identified in 25 eyes of 23 patients (3.3%; 25 of 756). Seventeen of 25 eyes (68%) presented with degenerative LMH and underlying late neovascular AMD. Mean best-corrected visual acuity was worse in eyes with AMD and LMH eyes than in those with AMD and no LMH (20/230 vs. 20/98; P = 0.02). The mean outer diameter was greater in the group with degenerative LMH with concomitant AMD than in the control group of degenerative LMH without AMD (1,323.9 ± 999.1 µm vs. 905.9 ± 356.8 µm, respectively; P = 0.01).

Conclusion:

The incidence of degenerative LMH increased in advanced forms of AMD, whereas the presence of tractional LMH subtype may be unrelated to AMD evolution.
PHARMACOKINETIC STUDY OF INTRAVITREAL AFLIBERCEPT IN HUMANS WITH NEOVASCULAR AGE-RELATED MACULAR DEGENERATION
Authors: Do Diana V. , Rhoades William , Nguyen Quan Dong
Published: May 2019

Purpose:

To investigate the half-life of aflibercept in aqueous humor after a single intravitreal injection in patients with neovascular age-related macular degeneration.

Methods:

Prospective, noncomparative, interventional case series of five eyes with neovascular age-related macular degeneration naive to anti–vascular endothelial growth factor therapy were enrolled and treated with intravitreal aflibercept. At baseline, best-corrected visual acuity, optical coherence tomography imaging, and aqueous humor (treatment eye) and blood/plasma samples were taken. Patients underwent best-corrected visual acuity, optical coherence tomography imaging, and sampling of aqueous humor from the eye and blood/plasma at six additional post-treatment time points of 4 hours and Days 1, 3, 7, 14, and 28. Concentrations of aflibercept were quantified using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.

Results:

Median peak concentration (Cmax) of free aflibercept in the aqueous was 122 mg/L. The median half-life of free aflibercept was 11 days in the eye. In plasma, the concentrations of free aflibercept were low and transient, reaching undetectable levels during the first week after injection, and undetectable in all patients at time points beyond 7 days.

Conclusion:

The pharmacokinetic profile in the aqueous humor described here together with the previously reported affinity of aflibercept for vascular endothelial growth factor is consistent with and adds to our understanding for the duration of its clinical efficacy.
The efficacy of Chinese patent medicine combined with entecavir for the treatment of chronic HBV-related liver fibrosis or cirrhosis
Authors: Song Yudi , Zhao Junkai , Wang Sudan , Huang Haoming , Hong Junwei , Zuo Junling , Huo Shaochuan
Published: May 2019

Background:

There are currently no FDA-approved biological or chemical drugs for the treatment of HBV-related liver fibrosis or cirrhosis. Some Chinese patent medicines have proven to be effective in this area.

Objective:

The network meta-analysis (NMA) is to evaluate whether entecavir combined with Chinese patent medicine, such as “fuzhenghuayu capsules,” “anluohuaxian pills,” “fufangbiejiaruangan tablets,” shows superior efficiency compared with entecavir alone for the treatment of chronic HBV-related liver fibrosis or cirrhosis. To evaluate which Chinese patent medicine is the most effective at improving liver fibrosis or cirrhosis in chronic hepatitis B-infected patients?

Methods:

Registration of protocol: the protocol was published in the PROSPERO database (identification number: CRD42018112547). We will search PubMed, EMbase, Medline, Cochrane, China Network Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), and Wanfang for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) or “prospective cohort studies” of “fuzhenghuayu capsules,” “anluohuaxian pills,” ”fufangbiejiaruangan tablets” respectively combined with entecavir in the treatment of chronic HBV-related liver fibrosis or cirrhosis from their inception to September 30, 2018. R 3.3.3 and GeMTC 0.14.3 software will be used for data analysis.