bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Mifepristone-inducible recombinant adenovirus attenuates paraquat-induced lung injury in rats
Authors: Hong G-L , Cai Q-Q , Tan J-P , Jiang X-Z , Zhao G-J , Wu B , Li M-F , Qiu Q-M , Lu Z-Q
Published: May 2014

Objective:

To investigate the effects of overexpression of nuclear factor E2-related factor-2 (NRF2) on lung injury in rats exposed to paraquat (PQ) poisoning.

Methods:

A mifepristone (RU486)-inducible recombinant adenoviral vector carrying the human NRF2 gene (Ad-RUNRF2) was constructed and transfected via airway into the rats 7 days before the administration of RU486. Rats were orally challenged with PQ at 20 mg/kg 24 h after the injection of RU486. On days 0.5, 3 and 21 after PQ poisoning, the expressions of NRF2 and cytokines related to inflammation and oxidation in lung tissue were examined.

Results:

RU486 remarkably enhanced NRF2 mRNA and NRF2 protein levels in Ad-RUNRF2-transfected rats in a dose-dependent manner ( p < 0.01). PQ stimulated compensatory overexpression of NRF2, heme oxygenase 1 (HO-1) and NAD(P)H quinone oxidoreductase 1 (NQO-1) in lungs on days 0.5 and 3 after exposure ( p < 0.05), but depleted the expression of catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) and glutathione (GSH), with an increased malondialdehyde (MDA) ( p < 0.05). However, pretreatment with Ad-RUNRF2 and RU486 strongly enhanced the expression levels of NRF2, HO-1, NQO-1, CAT and GSH-Px in the lungs of PQ intoxicated rats, with increased GSH and decreased MDA ( p < 0.05). Pretreatment with Ad-RUNRF2 and RU486 also strongly suppressed the PQ-induced activation of nuclear factor κB (NF-κB) and decreased the levels of tumour necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-1β (IL-1β) and interleukin-6 (IL-6). In addition, Ad-RUNRF2 and RU486 induction significantly reduced PQ-induced pathological changes in lungs and attenuated lung oedema and protein leakage caused by PQ ( p < 0.05).

Conclusion:

RU486-induced overexpression of NRF2 in lungs transfected with Ad-RUNRF2 can ameliorate PQ-induced lung injury by the activation of the NRF2-antioxidant response element (ARE) pathway.
Identification of novel genes involved in gastric carcinogenesis by suppression subtractive hybridization
Authors: Mottaghi-Dastjerdi N , Soltany-Rezaee-Rad M , Sepehrizadeh Z , Roshandel G , Ebrahimifard F , Setayesh N
Published: May 2014

Gastric cancer (GC) is one of the most common and life-threatening types of malignancies. Identification of the differentially expressed genes in GC is one of the best approaches for establishing new diagnostic and therapeutic targets. Furthermore, these investigations could advance our knowledge about molecular biology and the carcinogenesis of this cancer. To screen for the overexpressed genes in gastric adenocarcinoma, we performed suppression subtractive hybridization (SSH) on gastric adenocarcinoma tissue and the corresponding normal gastric tissue, and eight genes were found to be overexpressed in the tumor compared with those of the normal tissue. The genes were ribosomal protein L18A, RNase H2 subunit B, SEC13, eukaryotic translation initiation factor 4A1, tetraspanin 8, cytochrome c oxidase subunit 2, NADH dehydrogenase subunit 4, and mitochondrially encoded ATP synthase 6. The common functions among the identified genes include involvement in protein synthesis, involvement in genomic stability maintenance, metastasis, metabolic improvement, cell signaling pathways, and chemoresistance. Our results provide new insights into the molecular biology of GC and drug discovery: each of the identified genes could be further investigated as targets for prognosis evaluation, diagnosis, treatment, evaluation of the response to new anticancer drugs, and determination of the molecular pathogenesis of GC.
Predicting birth weight with conditionally linear transformation models
Authors: Möst Lisa , Schmid Matthias , Faschingbauer Florian , Hothorn Torsten
Published: May 2014

Low and high birth weight (BW) are important risk factors for neonatal morbidity and mortality. Gynecologists must therefore accurately predict BW before delivery. Most prediction formulas for BW are based on prenatal ultrasound measurements carried out within one week prior to birth. Although successfully used in clinical practice, these formulas focus on point predictions of BW but do not systematically quantify uncertainty of the predictions, i.e. they result in estimates of the conditional mean of BW but do not deliver prediction intervals. To overcome this problem, we introduce conditionally linear transformation models (CLTMs) to predict BW. Instead of focusing only on the conditional mean, CLTMs model the whole conditional distribution function of BW given prenatal ultrasound parameters. Consequently, the CLTM approach delivers both point predictions of BW and fetus-specific prediction intervals. Prediction intervals constitute an easy-to-interpret measure of prediction accuracy and allow identification of fetuses subject to high prediction uncertainty. Using a data set of 8712 deliveries at the Perinatal Centre at the University Clinic Erlangen (Germany), we analyzed variants of CLTMs and compared them to standard linear regression estimation techniques used in the past and to quantile regression approaches. The best-performing CLTM variant was competitive with quantile regression and linear regression approaches in terms of conditional coverage and average length of the prediction intervals. We propose that CLTMs be used because they are able to account for possible heteroscedasticity, kurtosis, and skewness of the distribution of BWs.
Holding on to Legalism
Authors: van der Vet Freek
Published: May 2014

Russian nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) increasingly pursue domestic change by litigating before the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR). The Russian government aims to decrease the amount of these applications and curtail the activities of these NGOs. In Russia, where legalism is often performed but sparsely delivered, NGOs engage into advocacy to supplement their international litigation. Advocating for domestic policy changes has, however, become potentially dangerous for NGOs under new curtailing legislation. Through interviews with Russian human rights practitioners, this article analyzes how two NGOs – the Anti-Discrimination Centre Memorial and the Committee against Torture – work in between their belief that law can effect into change and the necessity to supplement their litigation with other strategies. In particular, it analyzes the interactions between the state and the NGOs by examining, first, how NGOs mobilize claims before the Court as leverage in disputes, and second, how a restrictive environment affects the NGOs’ litigation.
Psychiatry trainees confidence as teachers, perceptions of supervisor support and opportunities for further training
Authors: Hickie Catherine , Nash Louise , Kelly Brian J , Lewin Terry J
Published: May 2014

Objective:

To investigate psychiatry trainees’ confidence in their role as teachers, their perceptions of support and preferences for a program to support this role.

Methods:

Psychiatry trainees in New South Wales (NSW) (Australia) in the first three years of psychiatry training ( N = 118) were invited to complete a survey which included demographic data, self-assessment of teaching confidence and perceptions of support for teaching.

Results:

A total of 63% ( N = 74) agreed to participate. Overall, 62% percent of participants regarded teaching as an important part of their role, 46% felt supported in the role by their training supervisors, but only 18% regularly discussed their teaching role in routine supervision.

Conclusions:

Psychiatry trainees viewed teaching as part of their role. They reported a low level of formal training in teaching skills and perceived a low level of support from supervisors. Registrar training needs to address trainees’ competencies in a range of teaching skills along with supervisor support. Further research is required to assess the impact of a teaching program on teaching performance and learner outcomes.
First episode psychosis in an adult area mental health service—a closer look at early and late-onset first episode psychosis
Authors: Selvendra Ajit , Baetens Dominiek , Trauer Tom , Petrakis Melissa , Castle David
Published: May 2014

Objectives:

To review the characteristics of all patients presenting with a ﬁrst episode of psychosis between the ages of 16 and 65 years to an adult area mental health service.

Methods:

The early psychosis programme at St Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne treats all patients presenting in the early stages of psychosis between the ages of 16 and 65 years. A database was developed to capture the demographic and diagnostic characteristics of the group. The characteristics of those with an onset under 26 years were compared with those with a later onset.

Results:

A large proportion (55%) of those presenting with first episode psychosis presented after the age of 25 years. There were a higher number of cases of depression with psychotic features in the older onset patients (notably so for those over 40) and a trend towards greater metabolic morbidity.

Discussion:

Older patients presenting with a ﬁrst episode of psychosis are relatively understudied but appear to have certain distinguishing qualities. Understanding the needs of these patients is important in tailoring optimal treatment packages and service responses.
Zinc and Vitamin Supplementation in an Under-5 Indigenous Population of Guatemala
Authors: Grossmann Vicki M. , Turner Barbara S. , Snyder Denise , Stewart Robert D. , Bowen Toni , Cifuentes Ariadna A. , Cliff Cheryl
Published: May 2014

Background: Malnutrition is an urgent problem in the developing world, especially for children under 5 years of age. The article describes the utilization of a standard of practice designed to prevent illness in a malnourished, under-5 indigenous population and reinforced by weekly basic health messages taught by lay community health promoters. Method: The two villages were chosen for observation after administration of the standard of care among the Maya-Kíché, the most numerous Mayan group in Guatemala. The standard of practice, 20 mg of daily oral zinc, was administered for 10 days in the home and followed by daily vitamin supplementation that continued throughout the 3 months of the project. All patients received four monthly clinic visits, with one of the village groups receiving weekly health promoter visits. Results: Data evaluated after the quality improvement project showed significant differences in adherence to the zinc regimen (χ2 = 3.677, p ≤ .05) as well as lower rates of diarrheal illnesses (χ2 = 5.850, p ≤ .05), with both of these improved in the health promoter group. Discussion: This study suggests that the training and implementation of para–health professionals from the lay community in response to specific health care needs could be considered a best practice in developing countries. Implications: Public health professionals are key to health promoter training and direction, and their importance in the global setting cannot be understated.
The Environment and Support Needs of Japanese Families on Temporary Work Assignments in the United States
Authors: Honda Junko , Hohashi Naohiro
Published: May 2014

Purpose: This study aimed to describe the environment and the family support needs of families of Japanese nationals rearing children who are temporarily working in the Southwestern United States. Design: Mixed methods were utilized based on the Concentric Sphere Family Environment Model. Data collection occurred over 132 days, with 25 families participating in formal interviews and 40 families completing a written questionnaire survey. Findings/Results: “Mutual support from relatives and friends in Japan, and with local Japanese peers,” and other themes, six in all, were extracted. Japanese families require intervention for measures related to the global environment in their daily lives. Discussion and Conclusions: The common factor for those families with high intervention needs was the inability to access family external resources that were usually available in Japan. Implication for Practice: The building of peer support and intervention to promote their participation in the community are necessary.
Controllability of Boolean control networks under asynchronous stochastic update with time delay
Authors: Chao Luo , Hong Liu
Published: May 2014

In this article, the controllability of asynchronous Boolean control networks (ABCNs) with time-invariant delay is studied. Using semi-tensor product, Boolean control networks under Harvey’s asynchronous update with time delay are converted into linear representation, and a general formula of control-depending network transition matrices is achieved. Firstly, a necessary and sufficient condition is proposed to verify that only control-depending fixed points of ABCNs can be deterministically controlled. Secondly, respectively for three kinds of controls, the controllability of the non-deterministic logical dynamics is investigated, and formulas are given to show: a) the reachable sets at time s under a group of specified controls; b) the reachable sets at time s under arbitrary controls and c) the probability values from a given initial state to different target states. Moreover, we also discuss how to find the particular control sequence to reach a specified target state with the maximum probability. Examples are shown to illustrate the feasibility of the proposed scheme.
The role of microglial activation in disease progression
Authors: Correale Jorge
Published: May 2014

Microglia, a unique type of myeloid cell, play a key role in the inflammation-mediated neurodegeneration occurring during both acute and chronic stages of multiple sclerosis (MS). These highly specialized cells trigger neurotoxic pathways, producing pro-inflammatory cytokines, reactive oxygen and nitrogen species and proteolytic enzymes, causing progressive neurodegeneration. Microglia have also been associated with development of cortical lesions in progressive MS, as well as with alterations of synaptic transmission in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE). However, they also play an important role in the promotion of neuroprotection, downregulation of inflammation, and stimulation of tissue repair. Notably, microglia undergo changes in morphology and function with normal aging, resulting in a decline of their ability to repair central nervous system damage, making axons and neurons more vulnerable with age. Modulation of microglial activation for therapeutic purposes must consider suppressing deleterious effects of these cells, while simultaneously preserving their protective functions.
Mean upper cervical cord area (MUCCA) measurement in long-standing multiple sclerosis: Relation to brain findings and clinical disability
Authors: Daams Marita , Weiler Florian , Steenwijk Martijn D , Hahn Horst K , Geurts Jeroen JG , Vrenken Hugo , van Schijndel Ronald A , Balk Lisanne J , Tewarie Prejaas K , Tillema Jan-Mendelt , Killestein Joep , Uitdehaag Bernard MJ , Barkhof Frederik
Published: May 2014

Background:

The majority of patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) present with spinal cord pathology. Spinal cord atrophy is thought to be a marker of disease severity, but in long-disease duration its relation to brain pathology and clinical disability is largely unknown.

Objective:

Our aim was to investigate mean upper cervical cord area (MUCCA) in patients with long-standing MS and assess its relation to brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) measures and clinical disability.

Methods:

MUCCA was measured in 196 MS patients and 55 healthy controls using 3DT1-weighted cervical images obtained at 3T MRI. Clinical disability was measured using the Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS), Nine-Hole-Peg test (9-HPT), and 25 feet Timed Walk Test (TWT). Stepwise linear regression was performed to assess the association between MUCCA and MRI measures, and between MUCCA and clinical disability.

Results:

MUCCA was smaller (mean 11.7%) in MS patients compared with healthy controls (72.56±9.82 and 82.24±7.80 mm2 respectively; p<0.001), most prominently in male patients. MUCCA was associated with normalized brain volume, and number of cervical cord lesions. MUCCA was independently associated with EDSS, TWT, and 9-HPT.

Conclusion:

MUCCA was reduced in MS patients compared with healthy controls. It provides a relevant marker for clinical disability in long-standing disease, independent of other MRI measures.
Platform convergence in Indonesia
Authors: Tapsell Ross
Published: May 2014

This article examines media freedom in Indonesia, an age where the media landscape is being remade by convergence. Media scholars are debating the implications of this trend for media freedom, with some believing it is opening new possibilities for a greater range of voices to be heard and others identifying new threats it poses. The Indonesian case, where media freedom is viewed as threatened, shows how technological convergence has led to commercial convergence. This article explores how convergence is both contributing to and undermining media freedom in Indonesia. It will do so through an in-depth analysis of the current trends in the Indonesian media industry.
Motivations for participating in ‘viral politics’
Authors: Penney Joel
Published: May 2014

This study explores the rationales by which citizens both embrace and resist the notion of using peer-to-peer digital platforms to circulate persuasive political messages. Drawing upon 25 in-depth interviews with US adults who used Twitter to link to the popular YouTube video Will the Real Mitt Romney Please Stand Up? I discuss the extent to which they imagine their online activities to be potentially influencing others in certain desired ways and thus constituting an instrumental form of political participation. The resulting analysis focuses on the complex and uneasy relationship between this media-spreading activity and a marketing-like model that positions social media users as microlevel participants in aggregate campaigns to shape public opinion. While some who engage in this activity enthusiastically embrace goals of persuasion, others opt for alternative conceptual frameworks, such as fostering citizenship by informing others and sparking deliberative dialogue, that seemingly avoid the manipulative connotations of political marketing.
Gaining weight after taking orlistat: A qualitative study of patients at 18-months follow-up
Authors: Hollywood Amelia , Ogden Jane
Published: May 2014

Orlistat is currently the only prescribed form of pharmacological management for obesity and functions by reducing the amount of fat absorbed from food eaten. Although frequently prescribed, there is marked variability in outcomes. A total of 10 participants’ experiences of gaining weight after taking orlistat were analysed using thematic analysis. Participants attributed their failed weight loss to mechanisms of the medication, emphasised a medical model of obesity with barriers to their weight loss and other weight-loss methods which had also failed. Overall, their weight gain was considered an inevitable part of their self-identity, reflecting their self-fulfilling prophecy of being a perpetual dieter.
Anxiety in Asperger’s syndrome: Assessment in real time
Authors: Hare Dougal J , Wood Christopher , Wastell Sarah , Skirrow Paul
Published: May 2014

Anxiety is a major problem for many people with Asperger’s syndrome who may have qualitatively different fears from a non-Asperger’s syndrome population. Research has relied on measures developed for non-Asperger’s syndrome populations that require reporting past experiences of anxiety, which may confound assessment in people with Asperger’s syndrome due to problems with autobiographical memory as are often reported in this group.

Experience sampling methodology was used to record real-time everyday experiences in 20 adults with Asperger’s syndrome and 20 neurotypical adults. Within-subject analysis was used to explore the phenomenology of thoughts occurring in people with Asperger’s syndrome when they were anxious. Comparisons were made with the group that did not have Asperger’s syndrome. The Asperger’s syndrome group were significantly more anxious than the comparison group. Factors associated with feelings of anxiety in the Asperger’s syndrome group were high levels of self-focus, worries about everyday events and periods of rumination lasting over 10 min. People in the Asperger’s syndrome group also had a tendency to think in the image form, but this was not associated with feelings of anxiety. The results are discussed with reference to psychological models of Asperger’s syndrome, cognitive models of anxiety and implications for psychological therapy for this group.
Autism comes to the hospital: The experiences of patients with autism spectrum disorder, their parents and health-care providers at two Canadian paediatric hospitals
Authors: Muskat Barbara , Burnham Riosa Priscilla , Nicholas David B , Roberts Wendy , Stoddart Kevin P , Zwaigenbaum Lonnie
Published: May 2014

Youth with autism spectrum disorder are a vulnerable, often poorly understood patient group, who may experience periodic and chronic health challenges, in addition to their primary developmental social and communication problems. Developmental and behavioural challenges can complicate management of acute health-care needs. To date, there is an absence of empirical research exploring the hospital experiences of children and youth with autism spectrum disorder, their families and their health-care providers. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to understand these experiences in order to inform hospital-based care. A total of 42 participants were interviewed (youth with autism spectrum disorder, their parents and health-care providers) at one of two Canadian paediatric hospitals, representing 20 distinct cases of patients with autism spectrum disorder. Results from the qualitative analyses indicated that patients with autism spectrum disorder faced several challenges in the context of health-care delivery in the hospital setting, as did their families and health-care provider team. Problems identified included communication and sensory challenges, and the degree of flexibility of health-care providers and the hospital organization. Supportive health-care providers were those who acknowledged parents as experts, inquired about the requirements of patients with autism spectrum disorder and implemented strategies that accommodated the unique clinical presentation of the individual patient. These recommendations have wide-reaching utility for hospital and health-care practices involving this patient group.
Nursing culture
Authors: Henderson Ellen M , Fletcher Margaret
Published: May 2014

Evidence-based practice (EBP) is challenging for most nurses due to the time constraints of caring for patients and the emerging pressures of a changing health service. To explore these challenges, and thus to establish possible means of overcoming them, three focus groups ( n = 17) with children’s nurses were conducted. Participants were asked how they would define EBP, what the barriers to EBP were, what skills they needed to help access evidence and how they could integrate evidence into everyday practice. Data were analysed thematically and the anticipated themes of definitions of EBP, barriers, education and nursing culture were determined. Important subthemes were personal and employer disengagement, passivity and lack of resource utilisation. Passive use of evidence readily available in patient folders and on the wards was common. It seemed that little consideration was given to how often this evidence was updated. Nurses define their access to evidence as primarily passive in nature. This is reinforced by a lack of ready access to ongoing education and a perceived lack of investment at institutional level in their continued engagement with evidence. Promoting EBP needs to engage more with those ritual and traditional aspects of nursing culture to challenge these perceptions.
Remembering and reinventing Juri Lotman for the digital age
Authors: Ibrus Indrek , Torop Peeter
Published: May 2014

This article introduces a special issue that is dedicated to the renowned Russian-Estonian scholar of semiotics and cultural theory – Juri Lotman (1922–93). The aim of the issue is not only to re-introduce Lotman’s work and his approach – the semiotics of culture – for the international community of cultural studies’ scholars, but also to demonstrate its ‘explosive’ potential and its contemporary momentum – its applicability and unique analytic affordances for interpreting the most modern phenomena of global digital cultures. In this introductory article we discuss Lotman’s original contribution regarding his conceptualizations of the evolutionary dynamics of culture and how his work could be potentially advancing the contemporary cultural studies.
The topography of Yuri Lotman’s semiosphere
Authors: Nöth Winfried
Published: May 2014

The purpose of the article is to examine Yuri Lotman’s models of the semiosphere and of semiotic spaces in literature and culture in the context of the spatial turn in cultural studies. It argues that Lotman’s writings anticipate the ‘spatial turn’ in cultural studies. Lotman’s semiosphere is a metaphor, which offers a spatial model for the interpretation of culture. A semiosphere is surrounded by a boundary. Its internal places are discontinuous and heterogeneous as well as homogeneous in some respects. Typical constellations of the locations within the semiosphere are opposition and bipolar asymmetry. Furthermore, the semiosphere is a space which can in some respects include itself in a way in which the included space is an icon of the including space. The article shows that Lotman’s topography of the semiosphere has undergone a change from a structuralist to a post-structuralist conception of culture.
Notes on Yuri Lotman’s structuralism
Authors: Żyłko Bogusław
Published: May 2014

Most accounts of Yuri Lotman’s legacy describe the evolution of his oeuvre from structuralism to a systemic version of post-structuralism. This article, however, suggests that Lotman valued highly the heuristic possibilities of the structural method throughout his career – he saw that, as a methodological approach, it enables the whole sphere of cultural studies to be taken into the realm of ‘science’. Lotman connected structuralism with semiotics and, as a result, produced a hybrid in the form of structural semiotics. Over time he enriched the structural method by making it more flexible, so that it could encompass as many cultural phenomena as possible. The principal difficulties in a structural description of a text arose from a fundamental conflict that exists between the integral and the dynamic nature of the text, and the static and analytical nature of the description. For Lotman, the way to make description more dynamic was to multiply the number of descriptions.
Transmediality of cultural autocommunication
Authors: Ojamaa Maarja , Torop Peeter
Published: May 2014

In his studies of culture, Juri Lotman implicitly expressed several ideas that have been rendered explicit by the contemporary mediasphere. The aim of the current article is to explicate a link between Lotmanian cultural semiotics and transmediality as one of today’s more innovative communicative practices. Transmediality is hereby located in the context of cultural autocommunication as a mechanism serving both creative and mnemonic functions. Thus, the notion is related not only to the questions of textual construction but, even more importantly, to text’s processual existence in culture in diverse media languages and discourses over time. By explaining the roots and developments of Lotman’s concept of autocommunicativity, which is central to his understanding of culture as a whole, the article simultaneously indicates the areas of his cultural semiotic studies that we consider relevant and fruitful for contemporary research into transmediality.
Urban semiosis: Creative industries and the clash of systems
Authors: Hartley John
Published: May 2014

This article has two aims. The first is to make the case that the ‘universe of the mind’ imagined by Yuri Lotman may be considered as a foundational model for cultural evolution (population-wide, dynamic, autopoietic, self-organising adaptation to changing environments). The second aim is to take forward a model of culture derived from Lotman’s work – a model I call ‘the clash of systems’ – in order to apply it to creative industries research. Such a move has the salutary effect of putting the ‘universe of the mind’ literally in its place. That place, now, predominantly, is in the city. Thus, the article uses Lotman’s model of the semiosphere to link different complex systems, principally the semiosphere with that of the city, in order to explore the productive potential of encounters – clashes – between different systems. Applying these insights to the field of creative industries research, the article proposes that creative culture in the globalised, urban and web-connected era can be characterised as ‘urban semiosis’.
Don Quixote, intermediality and remix: Translational shifts in the semiotics of culture
Authors: Dusi Nicola M.
Published: May 2014

In Yuri Lotman’s terms intertextual relationships as active dialogues among texts and cultures should be the starting point for an analysis of the concepts of intermediality, cross-mediality and transmediality. This article considers adaptations and remakes as intermedial processes and remix practices as transmedial ones. The article demonstrates how the processes of transposition, remake and remix may sometimes be only partial, or in other instances they may shift towards entirely different textual systems/levels. At metasemiotic levels, the strategies that build the narrative worlds may either conceal or emphasize the interdependent relations between source and target texts, as well as between their cultural semiotic systems and their emergent ‘metatexts’ of self-description. In the second half of the article brief semiotic analyses will be presented in order to investigate mechanisms of the intermedial and transmedial networks that start from a literary text, Don Quixote by Cervantes, and continue to cinema and new digital media.
Who said hip-hop was dead? The politics of hip-hop culture in Immortal Technique’s lyrics
Authors: Vito Christopher
Published: May 2014

While much of mainstream hip-hop has been corporatized and commercialized by major corporations, strands of independent hip-hop have attempted to remain separated from the major record labels. Using hermeneutic methods, this article examines the lyrics of independent hip-hop artist Immortal Technique. This article identifies three central themes in Immortal Technique’s lyrics that illustrate how he expresses resistance to class domination. First, he argues that class conflict occurs in hip-hop and thus there needs to be a pull away from major corporations. Second, his lyrics point for the need for independent hip-hop to escape from false consciousness and resist hegemony. Finally, his work indicates that the creation of knowledge through independent hip-hop culture and language present a means to resist class domination.
The ‘pear of anguish’: Truth, torture and dark medievalism
Authors: Bishop Chris
Published: May 2014

This article examines the historical truth of the ‘pear of anguish’ – a common exhibit in European dungeon museums that has recently made its way into the popular imagination by way of TV shows and internet sites. Like the ‘chastity belt’ before it, the ‘pear of anguish’ evidences the ‘dark medievalism’ of the modern consciousness, a dystopian view of the Middle Ages that imagines pre-Reformation Europe as a nexus of cruelty and sexual perversion. The historical reality, however, traced here through commentaries and catalogues from the past few centuries, would seem to indicate that both the device itself and its imagined function are creations of the modern world.
Signifying the public: Celebrity advocacy and post-democratic politics
Authors: Brockington Dan , Henson Spensor
Published: May 2014

Celebrity advocacy has become an important part of the way in which development non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and charities more generally, try to achieve social and political change. Yet research into how different audiences respond to such advocacy is parlous. This article presents findings from two large surveys (1111 and 1999), focus groups (9) and interviews across the charitable sector and celebrity industries to explore those responses. These data suggest that celebrity advocacy is not a particularly popular phenomenon, but it is widely believed to be so. Celebrity advocacy is thus firmly entrenched in post-democratic politics and part of the public alienation from politics that term describes. Nevertheless, because celebrity advocacy also works well with political and business elites it may still be a good vehicle for pursuing some of the goals of development advocates.
Prevalence and determinants of hypertension in Estonian adults
Authors: Kaldmäe Margit , Viigimaa Margus , Zemtsovskaja Galina , Kaart Tanel , Abina Jelena , Annuk Margus
Published: May 2014

Background: Although Eastern Europe, including Estonia, has one of the highest morbidity and mortality rates associated with hypertension, there is little information in the literature concerning the biochemical risk factor profile or its association with hypertension in Estonia. This study examined the cross-sectional gender-stratified association between biochemical risk markers and hypertension in a population-based sample of adults in Estonia. Methods: The study was carried out in Tallinn, Estonia and consisted of 511 men and 600 women with a mean age of 46 years. Physiological measurements were taken and blood samples drawn to measure the following markers: cholesterol, high- and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, apolipoproteins A-1 and B, lipoprotein(a), triglycerides, glucose, fibrinogen, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein and homocysteine. Results: Overall, 36% of participants had hypertension, with approximately 80% being aware of their condition. A total of 40% of participants reported taking antihypertensive medication. Multivariate binary logistic regression analysis showed that a decrease in high-density lipoprotein cholesterol and increases in age, body mass index, apolipoprotein B, triglyceride and homocysteine levels were associated with an increased probability of hypertension. Conclusions: Elevations in biochemical markers and cardiovascular risk factors are associated with hypertension. Increasing body mass index, triglyceride, apolipoprotein B and homocysteine levels with decreasing high-density lipoprotein cholesterol level should be investigated and monitored in Estonian adults.
Dynamic lighting systems in psychogeriatric care facilities in the Netherlands: A quantitative and qualitative analysis of stakeholders’ responses and applied technology
Authors: Aarts Mariëlle P. J. , Aries Myriam B. C. , Straathof Jochem , Hoof Joost van
Published: May 2014

Long-term care facilities are currently installing dynamic lighting systems with the aim to improve the well-being and behaviour of residents with dementia. The aim of this study was to investigate the implementation of dynamic lighting systems from the perspective of stakeholders and the performance of the technology. Therefore, a questionnaire survey was conducted with the management and care professionals of six care facilities. Moreover, light measurements were conducted in order to describe the exposure of residents to lighting. The results showed that the main reason for purchasing dynamic lighting systems lied in the assumption that the well-being and day/night rhythmicity of residents could be improved. The majority of care professionals were not aware of the reasons why dynamic lighting systems were installed. Despite positive subjective ratings of the dynamic lighting systems, no data were collected by the organizations to evaluate the effectiveness of the lighting. Although the care professionals stated that they did not see any large positive effects of the dynamic lighting systems on the residents and their own work situation, the majority appreciated the dynamic lighting systems more than the old situation. The light values measured in the care facilities did not exceed the minimum threshold values reported in the literature. Therefore, it seems illogical that the dynamic lighting systems installed in the researched care facilities will have any positive health effects.
Cultural value, measurement and policy making
Authors: O’Brien Dave
Published: May 2014

No matter what the national context, the question of how to understand the impact of government programmes, particularly in terms of value for money, has emerged as a complex problem to be solved by social scientific management. This article engages with these trends in two ways. It focuses on the UK to understand how these tools and technologies are used for valuing objects and practices. By showing the rationality for using these techniques for understanding culture, it creates a link between studies of cultural policy and broader questions facing the arts and humanities. The article’s second contribution is to our understanding of the role and function of arts and humanities by showing, in the British example, how a true understanding of the value of culture is impossible without the disciplines and fields that are currently peripheral to both government social science and, more broadly, higher education in the UK.
Research evaluation and the assessment of public value
Authors: Molas-Gallart Jordi
Published: May 2014

Funding organisations are increasingly asking academics to show evidence of the economic and social value generated by their research. These requests have often been associated with the emergence of a so-called ‘new social contract for research’ and are related to the implementation of new research evaluation systems. Although the research evaluation rhetoric is similar across countries and organisations, in practice evaluation can fulfil very different purposes. Additionally, the assessment of the public value of research poses different challenges depending on the academic field under analysis. This paper distinguishes three main research evaluation goals: to inform the distribution of public resources among competing objectives or performers, to help improve the implementation of policies and programmes, and to control the use of public funds. It then argues that assessing the value of research in the arts and humanities calls for a research methodology capable of providing a fine-grained understanding of the variety of, often diffuse, ways in which arts and humanities research can generate value. The methods that we need to do this are better suited to fulfil the improvement goal of evaluation, and require a ‘formative’ approach to evaluation supporting the social engagement of academic researchers.
A Case Study in Creating Oral Health Messages for Rural Low-Income Families
Authors: Tabatabaei-Moghaddam Hodeis , Sano Yoshie , Mammen Sheila
Published: May 2014

Culturally appropriate oral health messages are found to be an effective tool to improve oral health among rural, low-income families. Yet knowledge on how to best achieve such messages is lacking. Based on participatory, learner-based approach, this study examined various oral health messages (varied length, detail, and voice) among 75 rural, low-income mothers in nine states in the theoretical framework of cultural appropriateness model. Specifically, we compared the process of our message creation to the differential effects of linguistic, peripheral, evidential, and sociocultural approaches. Results of qualitative analysis showed that low-income mothers, who represent a “rural culture,” prefer messages that (a) have a clear and concise connection between recommendations presented in the message and future economic consequences of inaction, with sufficient explanation; (b) mention problem-specific economic struggles and inaccessibility of resources; (c) include the sources of fluoride, community barriers, availability of professional resources, and the quality of local water; and (d) contain the voice of a dental authority over the voice of other mothers. The applicability of cultural appropriateness framework and policy implications are discussed.
Can Health Equity Coexist With Housing Inequalities? A Contemporary Issue in Historical Context
Authors: Woods Louis Lee , Shaw-Ridley Mary , Woods Charlotte A.
Published: May 2014

The housing policies established by the Federal Home Loan Bank Board, Federal Housing Administration, and the Veterans Administration transformed the American housing market. However, these policies intentionally excluded communities of color from the postwar American housing boom by defining them as contaminants eroding national property values. Hence, racially restrictive federal housing policies established an inequitable generational trajectory for residents in communities across the United States. Public health practitioners are faced with the monumental challenge of addressing health disparities that were in part created by non–public health policies. The purpose of this article is to examine how federal housing policies historically contributed to creating the built environment and therefore establishing a foundation for health disparities. These pervasive, exclusionary policies and the generational stigma associated with this issue raise serious questions about the ethics of contemporary policies, practices, and research aimed at achieving health equity.
Ductility improvement of cementitious composites reinforced with polyvinyl alcohol-polypropylene hybrid fibers
Authors: Pakravan Hamid Reza , Latifi Masoud , Jamshidi Masoud
Published: May 2014

This paper investigated the hybridization effect of two chemically different fibers on the flexural behavior of cementitious composite. On this basis, polyvinyl alcohol and polypropylene fibers (polyvinyl alcohol/polypropylene fiber ratios: 75/25%, 50/50%, 100/0% and 0/100%) at different fiber volume fraction contents (1.2% and 2%) were considered as the variables. This study is especially focused on the influence of fiber types and their hybridization on composite deformability. The composite samples are subjected to the three-point bending test after 28 days of curing. The results showed that the fibers increased the flexural strength and ductility of cement matrix. It is revealed that the toughening improvement mechanism of polyvinyl alcohol and polypropylene fibers in cementitious composites are extremely different. Hybridization of polyvinyl alcohol and polypropylene fibers caused no significant improvement on flexural strength, but the strain capacity of composite under flexural load was increased. Finally, it was observed that the replacement of polyvinyl alcohol fiber with 25% volume fraction of polypropylene fibers can be considered as an important method for improving ductility of engineered cementitious composites.
Does Short Sleep Lead to Obesity Among Children and Adolescents? Current Understanding and Implications
Authors: Thind Herpreet , Davies Susan L. , Lewis Terri , Pekmezi Dorothy , Evans Retta , Baskin Monica L.
Published: May 2014

Childhood obesity continues to be a major public health concern in the United States. This work reviews the current understanding of the relationship between sleep duration and obesity among children and adolescents. A systematic search was conducted for papers published between January 2000 and July 2013 using keywords: (sleep) and (overweight or obesity or obese or body mass index or BMI or adiposity or body fat or fat) and (children or child or youth or teen or pediatric or adolescent or paediatric or childhood or adolescence or boy or girl). Reference lists of relevant articles and reviews or meta-analysis articles were checked to identify additional studies. Only empirical work and longitudinal studies that focused on children and adolescents were included in this review. The search identified 22 longitudinal studies. The majority of the reviewed studies support the presence of an inverse relationship between sleep duration and obesity. However, in some studies the relationship was not significant in adjusted analyses. Differences as a function of age and gender were also noted. Despite more than a decade of research, the debate on the association between sleep duration and obesity continues. Further research with repeated assessments, valid objective measures, and better control of potential confounding variables is warranted.
Care of the HIV-infected pregnant woman in the developed world
Authors: Hardy Erica , Cu-Uvin Susan
Published: May 2014

The reduction of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) transmission from mother to child is one of the success stories of modern medicine and public health. In the developed world, with universal HIV counseling and testing, antiretroviral prophylaxis, scheduled Caesarean delivery if indicated, and avoidance of breastfeeding, HIV transmission from mother to infant can be <2%. Despite this, transmissions continue to occur, often due to lack of knowledge of HIV status. Missed opportunities for prevention and prevention challenges include late prenatal care, lack of HIV testing in pregnancy, lack of preconception counseling, unintended pregnancy, and substance abuse. We review preconception counseling including options for serodiscordant couples, and antepartum, peripartum and postpartum care of the HIV-infected woman in the developed world, and advocate for a comprehensive, collaborative, multidisciplinary approach.
An open treatment trial of duloxetine in elderly patients with dysthymic disorder
Authors: Kerner Nancy , D’Antonio Kristina , Pelton Gregory H , Salcedo Elianny , Ferrar Jennifer , Roose Steven P , Devanand DP
Published: May 2014

Objective:

We evaluated the efficacy and side effects of the selective serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor antidepressant duloxetine in older adults with dysthymic disorder.

Methods:

Patients ≥ 60 years old with dysthymic disorder received flexible dose duloxetine 20–120 mg daily in an open-label 12-week trial. The main outcomes were change from baseline to 12 weeks in 24-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale scores and Treatment Emergent Symptoms Scale scores. Response required ≥ 50% decline in Hamilton Depression Rating Scale scores with a Clinical Global Impression of much improved or better, and remission required final Hamilton Depression Rating Scale ≤ 6. Intent-to-treat analyses were conducted with the last observation carried forward.

Results:

In 30 patients, the mean age was 70.7 (standard deviation (SD) = 7.6) years and 56.7% were female. In intent-to-treat analyses, there were 16 responders (53.3%) and 10 remitters (33.3%). Of these, 19 patients completed the trial. The mean maximum dose was 76.3 mg (SD = 38.5) in the total sample and 101 mg (SD = 17.9) in completers. In the total sample, the mean final dose was 51 mg (SD = 27.2) and correlated significantly with decline in Hamilton Depression Rating Scale ( p < .03); decline in Hamilton Depression Rating Scale correlated significantly with decline in Treatment Emergent Symptoms Scale ( p < .001). Daily doses above 60 mg were associated with greater improvement and well tolerated. This result was partly confounded by early dropouts having received low doses. Demographic and medical comorbidities, including cardiac disease and hypertension, were not related to response. Somatic side effects were common prior to duloxetine treatment and improved rather than worsened with duloxetine. There were no serious adverse events.

Conclusion:

Duloxetine at relatively high doses showed moderate efficacy in elderly patients with dysthymic disorder and was well tolerated in successful completers. Reduced somatic symptoms were associated with improvement in depressive symptoms. A systematic placebo-controlled trial of duloxetine in older patients with dysthymic disorder may be warranted.