bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A Systematic Review of Postoperative Pain Outcome Measurements Utilised in Regional Anesthesia Randomized Controlled Trials
Authors: Pushpanathan E. , Setty T. , Carvalho B. , Sultan P.
Published: July 2018

Introduction. Regional anesthesia is a rapidly growing subspecialty. There are few published meta-analyses exploring pain outcome measures utilised in regional anesthesia randomized controlled trials (RCTs), which may be due to heterogeneity in outcomes assessed. This systematic review explores postoperative pain outcomes utilised in regional anesthesia RCTs. Methods. A literature search was performed using three databases (Medline, Embase, and CINAHL). Regional anesthesia RCTs with postoperative pain as a primary outcome were included if written in English and published in one of the top 20 impact factor journals between 2005 and 2017. Study quality was assessed using the Cochrane Collaboration’s tool for assessing risk of bias. Results. From the 31 included articles, 15 different outcome measures in total were used to assess postoperative pain. The most commonly (16/31) used outcome measures were verbal numerical grading of pain out of 10, total opioid consumption, and visual analogue scale 10 cm (VAS). The need for analgesia was used as an outcome measure where studies did not use a pain rating score. Ten studies reported pain scores on activity and 27/31 studies utilised ≥2 pain outcomes. Time of measurement of pain score also varied with a total of 51 different time points used in total. Conclusion. Analysis of the articles demonstrated heterogeneity and inconsistency in choice of pain outcome and time of measurement within regional anesthesia studies. Identification of these pain outcomes utilised can help to create a definitive list of core outcomes, which may guide future researchers when designing such studies.
Biological-Signal-Based User-Interface System for Virtual-Reality Applications for Healthcare
Authors: Nam Sang Hun , Lee Ji Yong , Kim Jung Yoon
Published: July 2018

Biosignal interfaces provide important data that reveal the physical status of a user, and they are used in the medical field for patient health status monitoring, medical automation, or rehabilitation services. Biosignals can be used in developing new contents, in conjunction with virtual reality, and are important factors for extracting user emotion or measuring user experience. A biological-signal-based user-interface system composed of sensor devices, a user-interface system, and an application that can extract biological-signal data from multiple biological-signal devices and be used by content developers was designed. A network-based protocol was used for unconstrained use of the device so that the biological signals can be freely received via USB, Bluetooth, WiFi, and an internal system module. A system that can extract biological-signal data from multiple biological-signal data and simultaneously extract and analyze the data from a virtual-reality-specific eye-tracking device was developed so that users who develop healthcare contents based on virtual-reality technology can easily use the biological signals.
Blood Ammonia Level Correlates with Severity of Cirrhotic Portal Hypertensive Gastropathy
Authors: El-Kalla Ferial , Mansour Loai , Kobtan Abdelrahman , Elzeftawy Asmaa , Abo Ali Lobna , Abd-Elsalam Sherief , Elyamani Sahar , Yousef Mohamed , Amer I. , Mourad H. , Elhendawy Mohamed
Published: July 2018

Background. Portal hypertensive gastropathy (PHG) is a common anomaly with potential for bleeding found in portal hypertension. Blood ammonia levels correlate well with liver disease severity and existence of portosystemic shunts. Increased ammonia results in vasodilation and hepatic stellate cell activation causing and exacerbating portal hypertension.Objective. To assess the relation of blood ammonia to the presence and severity of portal hypertensive gastropathy in cirrhosis.Methods. This cross-sectional study included 381 cirrhotics undergoing screening for esophageal varices (EV) divided into a portal hypertensive gastropathy group (203 patients with EV and PHG), esophageal varix group (41 patients with EV but no PHG), and control group (137 patients with no EV or PHG). A full clinical examination, routine laboratory tests, abdominal ultrasonography, child score calculation, and blood ammonia measurement were performed for all patients.Results. Blood ammonia, portal vein, splenic vein, and splenic longitudinal diameters were significantly higher and platelet counts lower in patients with EV and EV with PHG than controls. Patients having EV with PHG had significantly higher bilirubin and ammonia than those with EV but no PHG. Severe PHG was associated with significantly higher ammonia, EV grades, and superior location and a lower splenic longitudinal diameter than mild PHG. The PHG score showed a positive correlation with blood ammonia and a negative correlation with splenic longitudinal diameter.Conclusions. Blood ammonia levels correlate with the presence, severity, and score of portal hypertensive gastropathy in cirrhosis suggesting a causal relationship and encouraging trials of ammonia-lowering treatments for the management of severe PHG with a tendency to bleed.
The Kidney Injury Induced by Short‐Term PM2.5 Exposure and the Prophylactic Treatment of Essential Oils in BALB/c Mice
Authors: Zhang Yining , Li Qiujuan , Fang Mengxiong , Ma Yanmin , Liu Na , Yan Xiaomei , Zhou Jie , Li Fasheng
Published: July 2018

PM2.5 is well known as a major environmental pollutant; it has been proved to be associated with kidney diseases. The kidney damage involves oxidative stress and/or inflammatory response. NOX4 is a major source of reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation in the kidney, and the excessive generation of ROS is recognized to be responsible for oxidative stress. To elucidate whether short‐term PM2.5 exposure could induce kidney damage, we exposed BALB/c mice to PM2.5 intratracheally and measured the biomarkers of kidney injury (KIM‐1, cystatin C), oxidative stress (MDA, SOD‐1, and HO‐1), and inflammatory response (NF‐κB, TNF‐α). Acute kidney damage and excessive oxidative stress as well as transient inflammatory response were observed after PM2.5 installation. The overexpression of some components of the angiotensin system (RAS) after PM2.5 exposure illustrated that RAS may be involved in PM2.5‐induced acute kidney injury. CEOs (compound essential oils) have been widely used because of their antioxidant and anti‐inflammation properties. Treatment with CEOs substantially attenuated PM2.5‐induced acute kidney injury. The suppression of RAS activation was significant and earlier than the decrease of oxidative stress and inflammatory response after CEOs treatment. We hypothesized that CEOs could attenuate the acute kidney injury by suppressing the RAS activation and subsequently inhibit the oxidative stress and inflammatory response.
A Control Method of High Impact Energy and Cosimulation in Powder High‐Velocity Compaction
Authors: You Dongdong , Liu Dehui , Guan Hangjian , Huang Qingyun , Xiao Zhiyu , Yang Chao
Published: July 2018

To enhance the impact energy of powder high‐velocity compaction (HVC) and thus improve the green density and mechanical properties of the resulting compacts, a mechanical energy storage method using combination disc springs is proposed. The high impact energy is achieved by modifying existing equipment, and the hydraulic control system is developed to implement the automatic control of the energy produced from the disc springs. An interdisciplinary cosimulation platform is established using the ADAMS, AMESim, and LabVIEW software packages to perform the interactive control of the simulation process and the real‐time feedback of the simulation results. A mechanical‐hydraulic cosimulation of the energy control virtual prototype of the testing machine is conducted using this platform. The influence of the impact energy on the green density is studied according to the HVC experimental results of the iron‐based powders, and then, the green compact with the higher relative density is produced. The experimental results indicate that the energy enhancement method using the combination disc springs is reasonable and that the hydraulic control scheme is reliable.
Comparison of Syndecan-1 Immunohistochemical Expression in Lobular and Ductal Breast Carcinoma with Nodal Metastases
Authors: Miše Ivana , Vučić Majda
Published: July 2018

Syndecan-1 (Sdc1) is a transmembrane heparan sulfate proteoglycan, an extracellular matrix receptor involved in intercellular communication, proliferation, angiogenesis, and metastasis. This study determined and compared Sdc1 expression in the tumor cells and stroma of 30 invasive lobular and 30 invasive ductal breast carcinomas (ILCs/IDCs), also in the axillary node metastases of ductal type, and correlated it with clinical and tumor parameters. Sdc1 was expressed in the epithelium of 90% carcinoma of both histological types. Also, it was most frequently expressed in their tumor stroma, but in ILC, stromal expression was negative in 40%. Sdc1 was expressed in 86.7% of the metastatic epithelium of IDC nodal metastases (in even 50% as high expression), while the nodal stroma was negative in 46.7%. Primary IDC showed a negative correlation between epithelial Sdc1 and progesterone receptors (PRs), whereas ILC showed a positive correlation between stromal Sdc1 and histological gradus. In the metastatic epithelium, Sdc1 was negatively correlated with a patient’s age, estrogen receptors (ERs), and PRs in the primary tumors, while the stroma of metastases demonstrated a positive correlation with the focus number in primary tumors and a negative correlation with PRs in primary tumors. This research revealed identical overall epithelial Sdc1 expression in both breast carcinomas with no statistically significant difference in its stromal expression and confirmed the role of Sdc1 in the progression of both tumor types and in the development of ductal carcinoma’s metastatic potential.
Modified Si-Ni-San Decoction Ameliorates Central Fatigue by Improving Mitochondrial Biogenesis in the Rat Hippocampus
Authors: Han Chenxia , Li Feng , Liu Yan , Ma Jie , Yu Xue , Wu Xiumei , Zhang Weiyue , Li Danxi , Chen Dou , Dai Ning , Lin Bingqi , Wu Fengzhi , Mao Meng
Published: July 2018

The traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) decoction Si-Ni-San (SNS) has been utilised for millennia to improve physiological coordination of the functions of the liver and spleen, which are regarded as the main pathological organs of central fatigue in TCM. This study evaluates the effect of a modified SNS (MSNS) formula on central fatigue in rats and explores molecular changes associated with hippocampal mitochondrial biogenesis. Central fatigue was induced through a 21‐day sleep deprivation protocol. We assessed MSNS’s effects on behaviour, blood and liver biomarkers, and mitochondrial ultrastructure. We found that MSNS could reverse various signs of central fatigue such as its effects on hippocampal gene and protein expression levels of sirtuin 1 (SIRT1), peroxisome proliferator‐activated receptor gamma coactivator‐1α (PGC‐1α), and nuclear respiratory factor 1 (NRF1). We also observed evidence of MSNS decreasing central fatigue, such as decreasing creatine kinase activity, decreasing levels of malondialdehyde and blood urea nitrogen, increasing lactate dehydrogenase and superoxide dismutase activities, increasing mitochondrial DNA copy number, and reversing mitochondrial ultrastructure changes. These findings suggest that MSNS can ameliorate central fatigue and that its molecular mechanism involves mitochondrial biogenesis enhancement mediated by hippocampal SIRT1, PGC‐1α, and NRF1.
Fracture Propagation Behavior of Jointed Rocks in Hydraulic Fracturing
Authors: Men Xiaoxi , Li Jiren , Han Zhihui
Published: July 2018

Jointed rocks are typical examples of heterogeneous materials with joints. The existence of joints influences the physical properties of rock mass and propagation of fractures, which can affect production operations in engineering. A series of simulations is performed to understand the failure patterns and fracture propagation behavior of jointed rocks in hydraulic fracturing. Three points, that is, dip‐angle joint, joint strength, and complex joints, are considered in the simulations. Results demonstrate three basic kinds of hydraulic fractures on jointed rock, namely, along the joint, across the joint, and partly along the joint and partly across the joint. The maximum principal stress is the control factor of fracture propagation in global scale, and the joint plane is the control factor of fracture propagation in local scale. In the propagation path, when the dip angle is small or the joint is weak, the fracture propagates along the joint; otherwise, the fracture propagates across the joint. In the multijoint interconnection models, hydraulic fractures propagate along joints in the tensile stress regions near the propagating fracture tip without dip angle limitation. Subsequently, the fractures connect with one another to form a complex fracture network based on the joint morphology.
Insulin-Like Growth Factor-I as an Effector Element of the Cytokine IL-4 in the Development of aLeishmania majorInfection
Authors: Reis Luiza C. , Ramos-Sanchez Eduardo Milton , Petitto-Assis Fabricio , Nerland Audun H. , Hernandez-Valladares Maria , Selheim Frode , Floeter-Winter Lucile Maria , Goto Hiro
Published: July 2018

Certain cytokines modulate the expression of insulin-like growth factor- (IGF-) I. Since IL-4 and IGF-I promote growth of the protozoanLeishmania major, we here addressed their interaction in downregulating the expression ofIgf-ImRNA using small interfering RNA (siRNA) inLeishmania major-infected macrophages. Parasitism was decreased in the siRNA-treated cells compared with the nontreated cells, reversed by the addition of recombinant IGF-I (rIGF-I). In IL-4-stimulated macrophages, parasitism and theIgf-ImRNA amount were increased, and the effects were nullified upon siRNA transfection. IGF-I downregulation inhibited both parasite and macrophage arginase activation even in IL-4-stimulated cells. Searching for intracellular signaling components shared by IL-4 and IGF-I, upon siRNA transfection, phosphorylated p44, p38, and Akt proteins were decreased, affecting the phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase (PI3K)/Akt pathway. InL. major-infected C57BL6-resistant mice, the preincubation of the parasite with rIGF-I changed the infection profile to be similar to that of susceptible mice. We conclude that IGF-I constitutes an effector element of IL-4 involving the PI3K/Akt pathway duringL. majorinfection.
The Adaptive Analysis of Shock Signals on the Basis of Improved Morlet Wavelet Clusters
Authors: Yang Haikun , Pan Hong-Xia
Published: July 2018

Morlet wavelets do not satisfy the permissibility condition of wavelet analysis, and there are therefore no inverse transformations for Morlet wavelet transforms. In this paper, we put forward the Yang and Pan transform (YPT), which is an adaptive discrete analysis method for shock signals. First, we improved the Morlet wavelet so that the centre and radius of the frequency window can be easily adjusted in the frequency domain. Second, we proposed the extremum frequency concept and analysed the extremum situation of the improved Morlet wavelet. Third, combining the improved Morlet wavelet and extremum frequency, we advanced the theory of the YPT, which does not need to satisfy the permissibility condition. We then continued by using a smoothing operator that can smooth the potentially distorted signal reconstructed after being analysed by the YPT and filtered by using the threshold filtering theory. This operator proved to be simple and efficient. Finally, a noisy signal was reconstructed after being analysed and filtered using the YPT and threshold filtering, respectively, to verify the validity of the theory, and the YPT was compared with the discrete wavelet transform (DWT). As a supplement to the theory in engineering, the shock signals about a gun automatic mechanism were also analysed using the theory in this paper. Good results were obtained, thereby demonstrating that the YPT can be helpful to further extract the features of shock signals in pattern recognition and fault diagnosis.
Canonical Wnt Signaling Remodels Lipid Metabolism in Zebrafish Hepatocytes following Ras Oncogenic Insult
Authors: Yao Yuxiao , Sun Shaoyang , Wang Jingjing , Fei Fei , Dong Zhaoru , Ke Ai-Wu , He Ruoyu , Wang Lei , Zhang Lili , Ji Min-Biao , Li Qiang , Yu Min , Shi Guo-Ming , Fan Jia , Gong Zhiyuan , Wang Xu
Published: July 2018

There is limited understanding of the effects of major oncogenic pathways and their combinatorial actions on lipid composition and transformation during hepatic tumorigenesis. Here, we report a negative correlation of Wnt/Myc activity with steatosis in human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and perform in vivo functional studies using three conditional transgenic zebrafish models. Double-transgenic zebrafish larvae conditionally expressing human CTNNB1mt and zebrafish tcf7l2 or murine Myc together with krasv12 in hepatocytes led to severe hepatomegaly and significantly attenuated accumulation of lipid droplets and cell senescence triggered by krasv12 expression alone. UPLC-MS–based, nontargeted lipidomic profiling and transcriptome analyses revealed that Wnt/Myc activity promotes triacylglycerol to phospholipid transformation and increases unsaturated fatty acyl groups in phospholipids in a Ras-dependent manner. Small-scale screenings suggested that supplementation of certain free fatty acids (FA) or inhibition of FA desaturation significantly represses hepatic hyperplasia of double-transgenic larvae and proliferation of three human HCC cells with and without sorafenib. Together, our studies reveal novel Ras-dependent functions of Wnt signaling in remodeling the lipid metabolism of cancerous hepatocytes in zebrafish and identify the SCD inhibitor MK8245 as a candidate drug for therapeutic intervention.

Significance: These findings identify FA desaturation as a significant downstream therapeutic target for antagonizing the combinatorial effects of Wnt and Ras signaling pathways in hepatocellular carcinoma.

Graphical Abstract: http://cancerres.aacrjournals.org/content/canres/78/19/5548/F1.large.jpg. Cancer Res; 78(19); 5548–60. ©2018 AACR.
Antitumor Activity of MEDI3726 (ADCT-401), a Pyrrolobenzodiazepine Antibody–Drug Conjugate Targeting PSMA, in Preclinical Models of Prostate Cancer
Authors: Cho Song , Zammarchi Francesca , Williams David G. , Havenith Carin E.G. , Monks Noel R. , Tyrer Peter , D'Hooge Francois , Fleming Ryan , Vashisht Kapil , Dimasi Nazzareno , Bertelli Francois , Corbett Simon , Adams Lauren , Reinert Halla W. , Dissanayake Sandamali , Britten Charles E. , King Wanda , Dacosta Karma , Tammali Ravinder , Schifferli Kevin , Strout Patrick , Korade Martin , Masson Hinrichs Mary Jane , Chivers Simon , Corey Eva , Liu He , Kim Sae , Bander Neil H. , Howard Philip W. , Hartley John A. , Coats Steve , Tice David A. , Herbst Ronald , van Berkel Patrick H.
Published: July 2018

Prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) is a membrane-bound glutamate carboxypeptidase that is highly expressed in nearly all prostate cancers with the highest expression in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC). The prevalence of increased surface expression and constitutive internalization of PSMA make it an attractive target for an antibody–drug conjugate (ADC) approach to treating patients with mCRPC. MEDI3726 (previously known as ADCT-401) is an ADC consisting of an engineered version of the anti-PSMA antibody J591 site specifically conjugated to the pyrrolobenzodiazepine (PBD) dimer tesirine. MEDI3726 specifically binds the extracellular domain of PSMA and, once internalized, releases the PBD dimer to crosslink DNA and trigger cell death. In vitro, MEDI3726 demonstrated potent and specific cytotoxicity in a panel of PSMA-positive prostate cancer cell lines, consistent with internalization and DNA interstrand crosslinking. In vivo, MEDI3726 showed robust antitumor activity against the LNCaP and the castration-resistant CWR22Rv1 prostate cancer cell line xenografts. MEDI3726 also demonstrated durable antitumor activity in the PSMA-positive human prostate cancer patient–derived xenograft (PDX) LuCaP models. This activity correlated with increased phosphorylated Histone H2AX in tumor xenografts treated with MEDI3726. MEDI3726 is being evaluated in a phase I clinical trial as a treatment for patients with metastatic castrate-resistant prostate cancer (NCT02991911). Mol Cancer Ther; 17(10); 2176–86. ©2018 AACR.
The Role of Serum Caspase 3 Levels in Prediction of Endometriosis Severity
Authors: Kaya Cihan , Alay Ismail , Guraslan Hakan , Gedikbasi Asuman , Ekin Murat , Ertaş Kaya Sinem , Oral Engin , Yasar Levent
Published: August 2018

Background/Aims: To identify the role of serum caspase 3, Annexin A2 (ANXA2), and Soluble Fas Ligand (sFasL) levels in the prediction of endometriosis severity. Methods: The study was performed on 90 women who were candidates for laparoscopic surgery due to endometrioma or any other benign ovarian cysts detected by ultrasound examination, pelvic pain, or infertility. The control group comprised 29  patients. The second group comprised 29 patients with stage I–II endometriosis and the third group comprised 30 patients with stage III–IV endometriosis. Results: Significant differences were detected between the control and stage III–IV endometriosis groups and between stage I–II and stage III–IV endometriosis groups in terms of caspase-3 levels (both, p < 0.001), ANXA2 levels (p = 0.007 and p = 0.002), and sFasL levels (p = 0.022 and p = 0.044). After receiver operating characteristic analysis, the area under curve was 93% (95% CI 57–82) at 10.7 ng/mL cut-off level for caspase-3 with 90% sensitivity and 87% specificity. Conclusion: Serum caspase-3 level may be a reliable predictor of endometriosis severity.
Time to Reset the Definition of Successful Revascularization in Endovascular Treatment of Acute Ischemic Stroke
Authors: Carvalho Andreia , Rocha Mariana , Rodrigues Marta , Gregório Tiago , Costa Henrique , Cunha André , Castro Sérgio , Veloso Miguel , Ribeiro Manuel , Barros Pedro Jorge Gonçalves
Published: July 2018

Background: A 2013 consensus statement recommended the use of the modified Treatment In Cerebral Ischemia (mTICI) scale to evaluate angiographic revascularization after endovascular treatment (EVT) of acute ischemic stroke due to its higher inter-rater agreement and capacity of clinical outcome prediction. The current definition of successful revascularization includes the achievement of grades mTICI 2b or 3. However, mTICI 2b grade encompasses a large heterogeneity of revascularization states, and prior studies suggested that the magnitude of benefit derived from mTICI 2b and mTICI 3 does not seem to be equivalent. In a way to restrain the referred heterogeneity, Goyal et al. [J Neurointerv Surg 2014; 6: 83–86] proposed a revised mTICI scale that includes a 2c grade (rTICI). Methods: Retrospective analysis of prospectively collected data from consecutive cases of EVT for anterior circulation large-vessel occlusion, performed between January 2015 and July 2017. Patients with mTICI 2b or 3 grades were reclassified according to the rTICI scale, and the outcomes between the 3 revascularization grades (rTICI 2b, 2c, 3) compared. Results: Our study population of 226 patients (64 rTICI 2b, 30 rTICI 2c, 132 rTICI 3) has a mean age of 71 years, 48.2% males, median baseline NIHSS of 16 (13–19) and ASPECTS of 8 (7–9). The 3 revascularization grades are represented by homogeneous populations. Logistic regression analysis showed statistically significant higher rates of functional independence at 3 months (65.9 vs. 50.0%; adjusted OR 0.39, 95% CI 0.18–0.86), with lower rates of mortality (8.3 vs. 15.6%; adjusted OR 3.54, 95% CI 1.14–10.97) and intracranial hemorrhage (ICH) in rTICI 3 than 2b groups. When comparing rTICI 3 with 2c groups, there were only statistically significant differences in the total ICH rate (8.3 vs. 26.7%; adjusted OR 7.08, 95% CI 1.80–27.82) but not in symptomatic ICH. Conclusions: These results corroborate the scarce prior findings suggesting that patients with rTICI 2c grade should be reported separately, since they have similar outcomes to rTICI 3, and better than rTICI 2b patients. Therefore, we suggest resetting the angiographic revascularization endpoint to perfect revascularization (rTICI 2c or 3 grades), a target that neurointerventionalists should strive to achieve.
An Interstitial 17q11.2 de novo Deletion Involving the CDK5R1 Gene in a High-Functioning Autistic Patient
Authors: Lintas Carla , Sacco Roberto , Tabolacci Claudio , Brogna Claudia , Canali Marco , Picinelli Chiara , Tomaiuolo Pasquale , Castronovo Paola , Baccarin Marco , Persico Antonio M.
Published: July 2018

We describe a 32-year-old male patient diagnosed with high-functioning autism spectrum disorder carrying a de novo 196-kb interstitial deletion at chromosome 17q11.2. The deletion was detected by array CGH (180K Agilent) and confirmed by quantitative PCR on genomic DNA. The deleted region spans the entire PSMD11 and CDK5R1 genes and partially the MYO1D gene. The CDK5R1 gene encodes for a regulatory subunit of the cyclin-dependent kinase 5 responsible for its brain-specific activation. This gene has been previously associated with intellectual disability in humans. A reduction in CDK5R1 transcript was detected, consistent with the genomic deletion. Based on the functional role of CDK5R1, this gene appears as the best candidate to explain the clinical phenotype of our patient, whose neuropsychological profile has more resemblance with some of the higher brain function anomalies recently described in the CreER-p35 conditional knockout mouse model than previously described patients with intellectual disability.
Role of Cytosolic Serine Hydroxymethyl Transferase 1 (SHMT1) in Phosphate-Induced Vascular Smooth Muscle Cell Calcification
Authors: Boehme Beate , Schelski Nadeshda , Makridakis Manousos , Henze Laura , Vlahou Antonia , Lang Florian , Pieske Burkert , Alesutan Ioana , Voelkl Jakob
Published: August 2018

Background/Aims: Hyperphosphatemia promotes medial vascular calcification, at least partly, by induction of osteo-/chondrogenic transdifferentiation of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs). The complex signaling pathways regulating this process are still incompletely understood. The present study investigated the role of cytosolic serine hydroxymethyl transferase 1 (SHMT1) in phosphate-induced vascular calcification. Methods: Endogenous expression of SHMT1 was suppressed by silencing in primary human aortic smooth muscle cells (HAoSMCs) followed by treatment without and with phosphate or antioxidants. Results: In HAoSMCs, SHMT1 mRNA expression was up-regulated by phosphate. Silencing of SHMT1 alone was sufficient to induce osteo-/chondrogenic transdifferentiation of HAoSMCs, as shown by increased tissue-nonspecific alkaline phosphatase (ALPL) activity and osteogenic markers MSX2, CBFA1 and ALPL mRNA expression. Furthermore, phosphate-induced ALPL mRNA expression and activity as well as calcification were augmented in SHMT1 silenced HAoSMCs as compared to negative control siRNA transfected HAoSMCs. Silencing of SHMT1 decreased total antioxidant capacity and up-regulated NADH/NADPH oxidase system components NOX4 and CYBA mRNA expression in HAoSMCs, effects paralleled by increased mRNA expression of matrix metalloproteinase MMP2 as well as BAX/BCL2 ratio. More importantly, additional treatment with antioxidants TEMPOL or TIRON blunted the increased osteogenic markers mRNA expression in SHMT1 silenced HAoSMCs. Conclusion: Silencing of SHMT1 promotes osteo-/chondrogenic signaling in VSMCs, at least in part, by inducing cellular oxidative stress. It thus aggravates phosphate-induced calcification of VSMCs. The present findings support a regulatory role of SHMT1 in vascular calcification during conditions of hyperphosphatemia such as chronic kidney disease.
A New Technique to Induce Experimental Myointimal Hyperplasia
Authors: Asfar Sami , Shuaib Ali , Al-Otaibi Fatemah , Asfar Sora S. , Kilarkaje Narayana
Published: July 2018

Background: Arterial myointimal hyperplasia (MIH) has a significant impact on the long-term outcomes of vascular procedures such as bypass surgery and angioplasty. In this study, we describe a new and innovative technique to induce MIH using a dental flossing cachet in Wistar rats. Methods: The intimal damage in the common carotid artery was induced by inserting the tip of the dental flossing cachet through the external carotid artery into the common carotid artery and turning it on for 3 rounds of 20 s each (n = 10). After 2 weeks, the rats were anesthetized and the common carotid arteries of the experimental side and the contralateral side (control) were harvested and preserved for histopathological studies. Results: The experimental carotid arteries showed significant intimal proliferation and thickening compared to the controls. The intima/media ratio of the experimental and normal (control) common carotid arteries were 1.274 ± 0.162 and 0.089 ± 0.023 (mean ± SEM), respectively (p < 0.001). Conclusion: This technique is simple, inexpensive, and highly reproducible and it induces sufficient MIH to study this phenomenon in animal models.
Emergent Knowledge in the Third Space of Art-Science
Authors: Muller Lizzie , Froggett Lynn , Bennett Jill
Published: July 2018

The locus of encounter between art, science and the public can be conceptualized as third space—a generative site of shared experience. This article reports on a group-based psychosocial method led by imagery and affect—the visual matrix—that enables researchers to capture and characterize knowledge emerging in third space, where disciplinary boundaries are fluid and there is no settled discourse. It presents an account of the visual matrix process in the context of an artscience collaboration on memory and forgetting. The authors show how the method illuminates aesthetic and affective dimensions of participant experience and captures the emerging, empathic and ethical knowing that is characteristic of third space.
New species of Burmeistera (Campanulaceae: Lobelioideae) from Ecuador
Authors: VALLEJO ANDREA F. , PÉREZ ÁLVARO J. , CEVALLOS DANIELA , MUCHHALA NATHAN
Published: July 2018

Two new species of Burmeistera endemic to Ecuador are described and their relationship with other species are discussed. Burmeistera pterifolia has an extremely narrow distribution on the northwestern foothills of the Andes in the Pichincha province, and it is easily differentiated from its congeners by its pinnatilobate leaf margin and large calyx lobes. The second species, Burmeistera draconis, is recorded from the Zamora Chinchipe province. It is distinctive in possessing an irregularly bidentate leaf margin and cylindrical inflated fruits with short calyx lobes.
The hybrid origin of Phai Liang, a bamboo of recent introduction into horticulture in Southeast Asia, and a new nothogenus, ×Thyrsocalamus (Bambuseae: Bambusinae)
Authors: GOH WEI LIM , SUNGKAEW SARAWOOD , TEERAWATANANON ATCHARA , OHRNBERGER6 DIETER , XIA NIANHE , CHAN KOK SIM , HOW YI XIAN , WONG KHOON MENG
Published: July 2018

Phai Liang, a recent bamboo cultivar originating in Thailand and widely introduced to many parts of Malaysia and Singapore, has yet to be diagnosed scientifically. In this study, the partial nuclear Granule Bound Starch Synthase I (GBSSI) gene of Phai Liang was cloned and sequenced to investigate its hybrid origin. Its morphological characteristics were compared with those of its putative parental taxa. Based on both molecular and morphological evidence, Phai Liang is recognized as representing a new nothogenus and nothospecies, ×Thyrsocalamus liang. This circumscribes a hybridization complex with variable morphological characters which reflect different degrees of intergradation between the parental species, Dendrocalamus membranaceus and Thyrsostachys siamensis.
Quality Assessment of the Clinical Practice Guideline for Tympanostomy Tubes in Children
Authors: Sturm Joshua J. , Huyett Phillip , Shaffer Amber , Kitsko Dennis , Chi David H.
Published: July 2018

Objectives

To determine the association between the introduction of statements 6 and 7 in the 2013 clinical practice guideline (CPG) for tympanostomy tubes in children and the identification of preoperative middle ear fluid (acute otitis media / otitis media with effusion [AOM/OME]) in children undergoing bilateral myringotomy and tube (BMT) placement.

Study Design

Case series with chart review.

Setting

Tertiary care children's medical center.

Subjects and Methods

Patients who underwent BMT for recurrent AOM were retrospectively reviewed. We examined 240 patients before (BG; 2012) and 240 patients after (AG; 2014) the introduction of the CPG.

Results

The baseline characteristics of the 2 groups were comparable. The total annual number of BMT placements performed at our institution decreased from 3957 (BG) to 3083 (AG). There was no significant increase in the rate of preoperative AOM/OME identification following CPG introduction (BG 78.3% vs AG 83.3%, P =. 164). The rate of identification of AOM/OME in the operating room (OR) increased from 54.2% (BG) to 71.3% (AG, P <. 001). The rate of identification of AOM/OME both in the clinic and in the OR increased from 55.1% (BG) to 71.3% (AG, P <. 001). Cases with concordant clinic and OR AOM/OME occurred among younger children (P =. 045), those with fewer episodes of AOM (P =. 043), and those with shorter time between the clinic and OR dates (P =. 008).

Conclusions

Following the introduction of the CPG, there was no change in the rate of identification of AOM/OME prior to recommending BMT placement in children with recurrent AOM. The lack of improved compliance with statements 6 and 7 may be related to multiple clinician‐ and patient‐derived factors.
Special Economic Zones: Operational Adjustment of Labour Law
Authors: Punj Amita
Published: August 2018

Labour law regimes worldwide have undergone a metamorphosis on account of their inextricable relation with the labour market which in turn is influenced by the prevailing economic thought. The mid-eighties witnessed a marked shift in the dominant economic thought from demand side to supply side economic theory. Export processing zones or special economic zones established with a view to promote export oriented economic growth constitute an overzealous expression of this shift. In tune with this trend, labour law, as operationalised in special economic zones in India manifests adjustment of workers’ rights to the need of economic growth euphemistically called ‘development’. The intention to exclude application of labour law in these zones reflected in the Bill introduced by the then minister of Commerce and Industry is being realised despite the outright rejection of such exclusion by the legislature and its substitution by a norm upholding the applicability. The following piece presents the saga of normative ways and mechanisms adopted for such a structural adjustment of labour law within special economic zones.
Pedagogical aspects of the child safety. Historical and cultural analysis
Authors: Тимофеева Лилия , Timofeeva Liliya
Published: July 2018

The following work is made in the format of historical research, based on descriptive approach. It’s devoted to the pedagogical aspects of ensuring the safety of children in different periods of human history. The accumulated information potential opens up wide opportunities for identifying cause-effect relationships, patterns within the problem of child safety, analyzing the general and specific features in its solution in different periods, the mechanisms for developing corresponding segments of the education system, and forecasting its direction.
Os fatores reais de poder como obstáculos ao acesso à educação de qualidade: análise a partir do atual cenário dos cursos jurídicos no Brasil
Authors: Pinheiro Priscila Tinelli , Fabriz Daury Cesar
Published: July 2018

A situação do ensino – em todas as suas etapas – enfrenta diversos problemas que contribuem com a sua precarização. Diante desta situação, o Estado implantou medidas, como o Plano Nacional da Educação (PNE), em busca de garantir o acesso da educação a todos. Todavia, tal medida contribuiu ainda mais para a crise enfrentada por todo o ensino superior jurídico – que constitui objeto do presente estudo – por aumentar de forma demasiada a oferta de vagas nos cursos jurídicos privados e públicos em todo o Brasil sem a devida estrutura. Para discutir tal situação, recorre-se à proposta de Ferdinand Lassalle acerca da análise do sistema jurídico brasileiro, em especial, a Constituição a partir da pressão exercida pelos “fatores reais de poder” constituídos por grupos sociais que buscam a prevalência de seus interesses em detrimento do interesse de toda a sociedade brasileira no ordenamento jurídico. Pretende-se analisar, por meio da pesquisa bibliográfica, quem são estes grupos que se apresentam como impedimentos ao acesso ao ensino superior de qualidade e contribuem com a manutenção do fenômeno da massificação dos cursos jurídicos. Propõe-se, então, investigar quais seriam as possíveis alternativas para se alcançar um ensino superior de qualidade sem restringir o acesso às classes mais baixas.
Routines
Authors: Rawstrone Annette
Published: July 2018

Daily routines, from leaving the house in the morning to bedtime, will help to create a calmer home environment, explains Annette Rawstrone
Sound the alarm?
Authors: Tassoni Penny , Tassoni Anne-Marie
Published: July 2018

How to recognise when children need extra support to develop phonological awareness, and the best ways to help. By Penny Tassoni and Anne-Marie Tassoni
Open minded
Authors: Weinstein Nicole
Published: July 2018

As Chelsea Open Air Nursery School prepares to celebrate its 90th anniversary, Nicole Weinstein finds out what makes the setting so special today
‘Is it like a beat without a melody?’: Rap and revolution in Hamilton
Authors: Severs Jeffrey
Published: July 2018

Hamilton (2015) celebrates rap as the discursively dense, incandescent language of American revolution, democracy and individuality, but the musical also, in its tragic course, portrays rap’s limits, especially when post-revolutionary problems of governance and family life arise. In giving these dual fates to the show’s central musical language, creator Lin-Manuel Miranda draws on the history of hip hop in general and gangsta rap in particular, offering an implicit critique of vengeful violence through allusions to the allegedly linked murders of Tupac Shakur and Notorious B.I.G. In its close readings of lyrics, this essay focuses on Alexander and Philip Hamilton and John Laurens and draws connections between these characters’ development and Miranda’s use of abolitionist and revolutionary history. The essay also explores the show’s many allegorical attempts to link positions on the political spectrum with different styles of music, from pop and jazz to the increasingly intricate rhyme schemes of hip hop.
Rise up: Nuyorican resistance and transcultural aesthetics in Hamilton
Authors: Mayora Gabriel
Published: July 2018

Based on author and composer Lin-Manuel Miranda’s cultural background as a New York-born Puerto Rican (i.e. Nuyorican) artist, this article develops a reading of Hamilton as a transcultural Nuyorican text. As part of this process, the article contextualizes Hamilton in relationship to the United States’ history of colonialism in Puerto Rico, showing how this history has informed the representation of Puerto Rican cultural identity on Broadway and in the US popular consciousness as subordinate to and distinct from hegemonic US nationalism. By analysing Miranda’s deployment of Broadway musical conventions alongside Nuyorican cultural aesthetics, the article argues for a reading of Hamilton as a site of resistance against the imperialist appropriation and subjugation of Puerto Ricans and Puerto Rican culture on Broadway.
Hamilton’s women
Authors: Wolf Stacy
Published: July 2018

This article explores the female characters in Hamilton and argues that the musical puts women on the sidelines and relegates them to the most obvious and time-worn stereotypes of wife, muse and whore. Hamilton’s cleverness, its engaging music and vibrant energy, and its occasional nod to the societal constraints experienced by women seduce spectators into looking away from the musical’s own demeaning representation of women. This article analyses the characters of Eliza, Angelica and Maria through their musical numbers and choreography and their function in the story. It tracks each woman’s journey through the narrative and her relationship to Hamilton and her purpose in his life. In the end, I argue that Eliza’s being given the last word in the musical, with the actor who plays her standing centre stage, does not compensate for her limited and stereotypical role through the show.
Blackout on Broadway: Affiliation and audience in In the Heights and Hamilton
Authors: Sáez Elena Machado
Published: July 2018

Lin-Manuel Miranda’s In the Heights (2008) and Hamilton (2015) find their inspiration in a generative conflict between individualism and community, freedom and property, whiteness and blackness, and empathy and complicity. The contradictory thematic pressures organizing Miranda’s musicals are the product of a complex negotiation with the institution of Broadway and its historic (mis)representation of people of colour. The musicals ambivalently balance a counter-narrative to a history of stereotype on the Broadway stage with the goal of convincing the predominantly white, highly educated tourists in attendance that the other is one of us. The musicals showcase different sets of Others and therefore have divergent goals in educating the audience, with In the Heights focused on countering stereotypes of Latinx criminality and Hamilton on affirming the immigrant’s centrality to the American nation. Nevertheless, both musicals display an ambivalence about the efficacy of the affective strategies used to educate the spectator. The stories of In the Heights and Hamilton share an investment in private property as a defining facet of the American Dream and, by extension, national belonging. At the same time, both musicals are fractured by an anxiety about the terms of such belonging, namely, who is silenced or excluded. The themes of acquisition and dispossession in terms of property ownership are fractured by the constant plea for forgiveness, for who gets sacrificed by the purportedly free market in order to facilitate the upward mobility of the rest.
Staging a revolution: The cultural tipping points of John Gay and Lin-Manuel Miranda
Authors: Brooks Tiffany Yecke
Published: July 2018

This study examines the significance of both John Gay and Lin-Manuel Miranda’s most famous works, where the form is as essential to telling the story as is the story itself, and conventional racial and gender restrictions are defied as a matter of rhetoric. Utilizing working-class music forms as well as the similarly pedigreed, boundary-defying characters of Macheath and Hamilton, Gay and Miranda redefine performance, poetics, patriotism and cultural power. Hamilton follows in the tradition of The Beggar’s Opera (1728) and Polly as a tipping point in cultural history by which subcultures may challenge and reshape prevailing understandings of performance, identity and national mythology.
Miranda’s Les Miz
Authors: Magee Jeffrey
Published: July 2018

‘I really got my Les Miz on in this score, like being really smart about where to reintroduce a theme’, noted Lin-Manuel Miranda soon after Hamilton’s off-Broadway opening in early 2015. Indeed, both in its techniques of thematic recurrence and in its continuous musicalization, Miranda’s approach follows his acknowledged model. Yet, Les Misérables more deeply pervades Hamilton’s dramaturgy than even Miranda has noted, as can be seen in several remarkable parallels between plot, characters and dramatic structure. Taken together, these and other analogies between the shows suggest that Hamilton retraces the dramatic and emotional arcs of Les Misérables, which Miranda has described as one member of the ‘Holy Trinity’ of Broadway shows.
Hamilton meets hip-hop pedagogy
Authors: Dobrick Alison
Published: July 2018

The fact that Hamilton’s music expresses history largely through hip-hop verse only scratches the surface of its potential impact to change the lives and perspectives of today’s students. Teachers all over the country have engaged in interdisciplinary, meaningful, personal and curriculum-based work based on Hamilton. More than just a source of highly entertaining rap songs about American history, Hamilton provides powerful opportunities to apply the practices and philosophies of the flourishing field of hip-hop pedagogy. This article explores compelling possible links between Hamilton and hip-hop pedagogy. A brief overview of hip-hop culture and the development of hip-hop pedagogy, including roots, values and aims, provides background for three standards-based activities for high school students.
‘Hey yo, I’m just like my country’: Teaching Miranda’s Hamilton as an American chronicle
Authors: Viator Timothy J.
Published: July 2018

The article discusses teaching the libretto of Miranda’s Hamilton as a uniquely American text (to undergraduate literature students in the United States). It details approaching the rap opera as a clash of ideologies known as versions of the American Dream. It touches upon genre distinctions from chronicle play (as adaptation), to the adversarial plot, to the American immigrant narrative.
Lin-Manuel Miranda and the metamyth of a nation’s founding
Authors: Whall Helen M.
Published: July 2018

This article discusses how Miranda distinguishes among the truth claims made by myth, legend and history. In Hamilton, he dramatizes how the founding myth meant to assure a nation’s greatness can actually limit a nation’s future. Having identified and critiqued the conventions of myth, Miranda makes self-conscious use of those elements in order to rewrite the story of America’s founding. He presents a ‘metamyth’ meant to prefigure an America that might fully embrace equality for all.
‘What if this bullet is my legacy?’: The guns of Hamilton
Authors: Conti Meredith
Published: July 2018

This article explores the material and metaphorical uses of firearms in Hamilton: An American Musical. From the chaotic depictions of Revolutionary War armed combat to the ritualized triptych of duels, Hamilton’s plot pivots around the conspicuous foregrounding of guns and gunplay as instruments of war and conflict resolution, but also as deliverers of social prestige, politico-cultural leverage and even American immortality. This article also interrogates the firearm’s influence on the musical’s signature rhythms, gestures and metaphors, as well as contemplates the ways Hamilton both confirms and resists gendered and raced tropes imbedded within American gun culture.
Hamilton and class
Authors: Sekellick Matthew Clinton
Published: July 2018

Using an intersectional Marxist analysis, this brief article surveys issues of, and related to, class in Lin-Manuel Miranda’s hit musical Hamilton, including questions of aesthetics, race, narrative, politics and history, as well as how class impacts access to the musical. Sekellick argues that, through its use of hip hop and colour-conscious casting, Hamilton deploys the affects and aesthetics of people of colour, as well as of revolution, to give an otherwise conservative bootstraps narrative about a white founding father a progressive feeling sheen. The author reads Hamilton as a neo-liberal version of America’s founding myths, a retelling of the American dream to suit diversified capitalist and political classes.