bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Entrepreneurialising urban informality: Transforming governance of informal settlements in Taipei
Authors: Chien Ker-hsuan
Published: October 2017

Informality is a common urban experience among cities in the Global South. Given the thin social welfare and weak regulations, the urban subaltern has therefore had to improvise housing and employment in order to survive. Urban informality is hence conceived as a negotiation process through which spatial value is produced. However, under the current wave of urban entrepreneurialisation, informality is often deemed to be inefficient and unproductive in the new economy that the local governments are trying to build. Many of the informal settlements have been subject to demolition in order to make room for new urban development projects. With the cases of waterfront regeneration projects in Taipei, this paper argues that entrepreneurialism and informality are not necessarily mutually exclusive. Rather, through their co-evolution, urban informality actually contributes to the variegation of urban entrepreneurialism. This paper demonstrates how the urban squatters have managed to re-engage informality and urban development by actively participating in the shaping of the entrepreneurial discourses, reinventing their informal settlements as a key feature that contributes to the city’s economic development. However, although this entwining of entrepreneurialism and informality has brought new opportunities to the informal settlements, it has at the same time presented new threats to their current way of life. By focusing on the entrepreneurialising of urban informality, this paper offers a grounded perspective on the ways in which the urban subaltern has reacted to the unfolding urban entrepreneurialism in Taiwan.
Psychodermatology liaison clinic in India: a working model
Authors: Goyal Nupur , Shenoi Shrutakirthi , Prabhu Smitha S , Sreejayan K , Munoli Ravindra , Rai Shweta
Published: October 2017

Literature reports suggest that up to 30% of dermatology patients have associated psychiatric co-morbidity. A psychodermatology liaison (PD) clinic is essential to deal with such patients, which is almost non-existent in the Indian scenario. In order to report the working pattern of such a clinic and to determine its efficacy with the help of Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) and Short Assessment of Patient Satisfaction (SAPS) questionnaires, we investigated patients with suspected psychocutaneous diseases in an open-labelled two-year prospective study. Of 236 patients, 86 had psychiatric co-morbidity, 19 had primary psychiatric disorders, 144 were advised psychological interventions and 98 were prescribed psychotropics. A statistically significant fall in DLQI scores at follow-up indicated improvement in quality of life. SAPS scales demonstrated 87.3% of patients in our PD clinic were satisfied with their management in contrast to 53.8% patients in the normal standard dermatology clinic. Nearly 33% of the patients attending our PD clinic had psychiatric co-morbidity, the commonest being an adjustment disorder.
Infective keratitis in Indian patients with corneal dystrophies
Authors: Ganger Anita , Gupta Noopur , Tomar Ankit S , Vanathi Murugesan , Tandon Radhika
Published: October 2017

All eight patients seen with various types of corneal dystrophy, a rare hereditary corneal disease, presented with infective keratitis. Unilateral microbial invasion was seen in all patients and the visual acuity of the affected eyes was <6/60 at presentation. We highlight our impression that microbial invasion can occur with all types of epithelial and stromal corneal dystrophy, including macular corneal dystrophy. Regular follow-up to maintain a healthy ocular surface is recommended to avert blindness in such patients.
An Investigation of a Cyclic Pattern in Mark 4:35–8:21 and Its Theological Significance
Authors: Kim Sun Wook
Published: October 2017

This article explores the narrative structure of Mark 4:35–8:21 based on geographical arrangement, literary parallelism, and boat and bread motifs, identifying two cycles (4:35–6:44 and 6:45–8:10) and a conclusion (8:11–21), and presents theological implications of its cyclic structure. The structure of Mark 4–8 seems to be loose in its arrangement of episodes and geographical descriptions. These problems, however, are caused not by Mark's arbitrary collection of sources but by his literary techniques and theological purposes. My proposed structure is based on geographical distinctions; it focuses mainly on tracing Jesus’ geographical movement composed by Mark's literary technique and motifs. In the former cycle, Jesus’ ministry was mostly for the Jews; in the latter cycle, for the Gentiles. A conclusion manifests Jesus as the mighty Savior of God's people. In a Christological view, Jesus’ missional (geographical) movement between west (Jewish territory) and east (Gentile territory) demonstrates his identity as the deliverer, healer, and feeder of both the Jews and the Gentles, regardless of their ethnicity.
The Gospel Traditions Inferring to Jesus’ Proper Burial through the Depictions of Female Funerary Kinship Roles
Authors: Berg InHee C.
Published: October 2017

The early Christians believed that Jesus was buried according to Jewish customs. However, the question regarding the nature of Jesus’ burial remains contestable and this leads our attention once again to the textual information of the Gospel traditions dealing with Jesus’ death and burial scenes. As the Gospels uniformly disclose that Jesus is the embodiment of the divine Covenant, the authors must have been obliged to draw the picture of Jesus’ burial in association to propriety rather than impropriety and honor rather than dishonor since dishonorable burial was the lot only for those who violated God's Covenant through their disobedience. For this, the Synoptic Gospels, particularly, feature women in the kernel accounts of Jesus’ Passion as the intimate providers of essential funeral services necessary to mark Jesus’ burial as being ritualistically acceptable. Although it seems laconic and implicit in the Gospels’ descriptions of these women's actions and intents, these women fill the noticeable void of the immediate family of Jesus and fulfill the familiar roles required in the rites of the passage.
Optimal design of nonlinear large-scale suspendome using cascade optimization
Authors: Kaveh Ali , Rezaei Masoud , Shiravand MR
Published: October 2017

Large-scale suspendomes are elegant architectural structures which cover a vast area with no interrupting columns in the middle. These domes have attractive shapes which are also economical. Domes are built in a wide variety of forms. In this article, an algorithm is developed for optimum design of domes considering the topology, geometry, and size of member section using the cascade-enhanced colliding bodies optimization method. In large-scale space steel structures, a large number of design variables are involved. The idea of cascade optimization allows a single optimization problem to be tackled in a number of successive autonomous optimization stages. The variables are the optimum height of crown and tubular sections of these domes, the initial strain, the length of the struts, and the cross-sectional areas of the cables in the tensegrity system of domes. The number of joints in each ring and the number of rings are considered for topology optimization of ribbed and Schwedler domes. Weight of the dome is taken as the objective function for minimization. A simple procedure is defined to determine the configuration of the domes. The design constraints are considered according to the provisions of Load and Resistance Factor Design–American Institute of Steel Constitution. In order to investigate the efficiency of the presented method, a large-scale suspendome with more than 2266 members is investigated. Numerical results show that the utilized method is an efficient tool for optimal design of large-scale domes. Additionally, in this article, a topology and geometry optimization for two common ribbed and Schwedler domes are performed to find their optimum graphs considering various spans.
Effect of aminaphtone on in vitro vascular permeability and capillary-like maintenance
Authors: Felice Francesca , Belardinelli Ester , Frullini Alessandro , Santoni Tatiana , Imbalzano Egidio , Di Stefano Rossella
Published: October 2017

Objectives

Aminaphtone, a naphtohydrochinone used in the treatment of capillary disorders, may affect oedema in chronic venous insufficiency. Aim of study is to investigate the effect of aminaphtone on vascular endothelial permeability in vitro and its effects on three-dimensional capillary-like structures formed by human umbilical vein endothelial cells.

Method

Human umbilical vein endothelial cells were treated with 50 ng/ml VEGF for 2 h and aminaphtone for 6 h. Permeability assay, VE-cadherin expression and Matrigel assay were performed.

Results

VEGF-induced permeability was significantly decreased by aminaphtone in a range concentration of 1–20 µg/ml. Aminaphtone restored VE-cadherin expression. Finally, 6 h pre-treatment with aminaphtone significantly preserved capillary-like structures formed by human umbilical vein endothelial cells on Matrigel up to 48 h compared to untreated cells.

Conclusions

Aminaphtone significantly protects endothelium permeability and stabilises endothelial cells organised in capillary-like structures, modulating VE-cadherin expression. These data might explain the clinical benefit of aminaphtone on chronic venous insufficiency.
Quantifying the Relationship between Capability and Health in Older People: Can’t Map, Won’t Map
Authors: Franklin Matthew , Payne Katherine , Elliott Rachel A.
Published: October 2017

Background. Intuitively, health and capability are distinct but linked concepts. This study aimed to quantify the link between a measure of health status (EQ-5D-3L) and capability (ICECAP-O) using regression-based methods. Methods. EQ-5D-3L and ICECAP-O data were collected from a sample of older people ( n = 584), aged over 65 years, requiring a hospital visit and/or care home resident, and recruited to one of 3 studies forming the Medical Crisis in Older People (MCOP) program in England. The link of EQ-5D-3L with 1) ICECAP-O tariff scores were estimated using ordinary least squares (OLS) or censored least absolute deviation (CLAD) regression models; and 2) ICECAP-O domain scores was estimated using multinomial logistic (MNL) regression. Mean absolute error (MAE), root mean squared error (RMSE), absolute difference (AD) between mean observed and estimated values, and the R2 statistic were used to judge model performance. Results. In this sample of older people ( n = 584), higher scores on the EQ-5D-3L were shown to be linked with higher ICECAP-O scores when using linear regression. An OLS-regression model was identified to be the best performing model with the lowest error statistics (AD = 0.0000; MAE = 0.1208; MSE = 0.1626) and highest goodness of fit ( R2 = 0.3532); model performance was poor when predicting the lower ICECAP-O tariff scores. The three domains of the EQ-5D-3L showing a statistically significant quantifiable link with the ICECAP-O tariff score were self-care, usual activities, and anxiety/depression. Conclusion. A quantifiable, but weak, link between health (EQ-5D-3L) and capability (ICECAP-O) was identified. The findings from this study add further support that the ICECAP-O is providing complimentary information to the EQ-5D-3L. Mapping between the 2 measures is not advisable and the measures should not be used as direct substitutes to capture the impact of interventions in economic evaluations.
Contrast-enhanced spectral mammography in patients with MRI contraindications
Authors: Richter Vivien , Hatterman Valerie , Preibsch Heike , Bahrs Sonja D , Hahn Markus , Nikolaou Konstantin , Wiesinger Benjamin
Published: October 2017

Background

Contrast-enhanced spectral mammography (CESM) is a novel breast imaging technique providing comparable diagnostic accuracy to breast magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

Purpose

To show that CESM in patients with MRI contraindications is feasible, accurate, and useful as a problem-solving tool, and to highlight its limitations.

Material and Methods

A total of 118 patients with MRI contraindications were examined by CESM. Histology was obtained in 94 lesions and used as gold standard for diagnostic accuracy calculations. Imaging data were reviewed retrospectively for feasibility, accuracy, and technical problems. The diagnostic yield of CESM as a problem-solving tool and for therapy response evaluation was reviewed separately.

Results

CESM was more accurate than mammography (MG) for lesion categorization (r = 0.731, P < 0.0001 vs. r = 0.279, P = 0.006) and for lesion size estimation (r = 0.738 vs. r = 0.689, P < 0.0001). Negative predictive value of CESM was significantly higher than of MG (85.71% vs. 30.77%, P < 0.0001). When used for problem-solving, CESM changed patient management in 2/8 (25%) cases. Superposition artifacts and timing problems affected diagnostic utility in 3/118 (2.5%) patients.

Conclusion

CESM is a feasible and accurate alternative for patients with MRI contraindications, but it is necessary to be aware of the method’s technical limitations.
Towards a Group Analytic Praxis for Working with Teams in Organizations
Authors: Thornton Christine
Published: October 2017

Several aspects of group analysis render it a useful discipline for consulting to organizations and working with teams in complex post-modern environments. These include attention to the individual in the group, sophisticated grasp of the nuances of interpersonal communication, attention to context, tolerance and the value of multiple perspectives, creative incorporation of difference and a flexible developmental approach to managing anxiety and leadership projections. The importance assigned to context, and the value placed on multiple perspectives as holding elements of reality, mesh with systems and complexity theories so that group analysis offers a coherent intellectual framework for understanding interplaying processes in the system, from individual, through team, departmental and organizational, to societal and global levels. While several writers have demonstrated the value of group analytic thinking in understanding organizations, to date none have attempted to contextualize their perspective with those of others working in the field. This article opens with a literature review, articulates some core contextual differences between clinical and organizational work, and identifies the characteristics of group analysis that make it a valuable discipline in organizational work. A second companion article elaborates, setting out further differences in praxis in organizational rather than therapeutic work and discussing contracting for organizational work.
Experimental investigation of the leading edge vortex formation on unsteady boundary layer
Authors: Davari Ali R , Abdollahi Rezvan , Azimizadeh Ehsaneddin
Published: October 2017

Extensive experimental studies have been performed to investigate the unsteady boundary layer behavior over a plunging wind turbine blade section. The studies have been undertaken at various combinations of reduced frequencies, Reynolds numbers, and locations. A boundary layer rake has been carefully manufactured and utilized for velocity measurements inside the unsteady boundary layer. The measurement has been conducted in pre-static stall conditions. The reduced frequency and free stream velocity have varied from 0.005 to 0.1, and 30 to 60 m/s, respectively. To cover all possible scenarios, the streamwise positions of measurements have been chosen to be in favorable (x/c = 0.37), almost zero (x/c = 0.47), and adverse pressure gradient (x/c = 0.57) regions, on the blade section. The velocity inside the boundary layer has shown high sensitivity to the reduced frequency in the different pressure gradient regions. In some definite test cases, velocity inside boundary layer has shown beating phenomena, which is the result of the periodical appearance of the leading edge vortex. The impact of the leading edge vortex on the velocity has been observed to be more evident, in some cases, in the form of signal beating. This signature has been more evident, as the rake entered the adverse pressure gradient region. In order to quantify this observed phenomenon, the time-dependent velocity data have been transformed into the frequency domain, utilizing the discrete Fourier transformation. Even though the leading edge vortex has been continuously developed on the profile, and then has shed toward the leading edge, during each cycle on a plunging profile, the dominant frequency throughout this process has been measured to be about 4 Hz for this blade section.
Effect of mesh phasing on the transmission efficiency and dynamic performance of wheel hub planetary gear sets
Authors: Fatourehchi Ehsan , Mohammadpour Mahdi , King Paul D , Rahnejat Homer , Trimmer Gareth , Williams Alan , Womersley Robert
Published: October 2017

Transmission efficiency and refinement of planetary wheel hub gearing system are key design attributes for heavy and off-highway vehicles. Reduction of power loss, directly leading to the development of new generation ECO-axles requires analysis of gear contacting conditions for lubricated conjunctions to determine frictional performance. This is also affected by gear dynamics, which is a prerequisite for assessment of noise, vibration and harshness performance. Therefore, a combined tribo-dynamic analysis is essential. There is a dearth of such holistic analysis, particularly for the case of wheel hub planetary systems. The paper presents such an analysis, which has not hitherto been reported in literature. The inexorable interplay of transmission efficiency and noise, vibration and harshness refinement is demonstrated. The key attributes of noise, vibration and harshness refinement and transmission efficiency can pose contrary requirements and near-optimal conditions can be highlighted by mesh phasing of gearing contacts, thus alleviating the need for more complex gear teeth modifications entailing prohibitive manufacturing costs.
Why There Is No Obligation to Participate in Clinical Research
Authors: Yarborough Mark
Published: October 2017

Commentators tout the societal benefits of research to conclude that people have a civic duty to participate in it. A review of several problems in research demonstrate the contrary and reveal why claims we are duty-bound to participate in research deter urgently needed efforts to tackle multiple entrenched deficiencies in it.
Studying Effects of Medical Treatments: Randomized Clinical Trials and the Alternatives
Authors: Ellenberg Susan S. , Joffe Steven
Published: October 2017

The random]ized clinical trial is widely accepted as the optimal approach to evaluating the safety and efficacy of medical treatments. Resistance to randomized treatment assignment arises regularly, most commonly in situations where the disease is life-threatening and treatments are either unavailable or unsatisfactory. Historical control designs, in which all participants receive the experimental treatment with results compared to a prior cohort, are advocated by some as more ethical in such circumstances; however, such studies are often highly biased in favor of the new treatment and frequently yield misleading results. Alternative controlled designs motivated by the desire to maximize the number of patients with the treatment ultimately determined to be superior have been proposed, but have been challenged on both methodological and ethical grounds. Debates about appropriate and ethical study designs recurred during the recent Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) epidemic in West Africa. Despite its devastating nature, the EVD epidemic showed the ongoing necessity of conducting randomized trials to obtain convincing evidence of the safety and efficacy of therapeutic interventions.
Living on the Periphery of Youth
Authors: Sørensen Niels Ulrik , Pless Mette
Published: October 2017

Drawing on theoretical perspectives regarding the importance of place and belonging to a place in understanding young people’s lives as well as broader processes of social change and continuity, this article explores conceptions of youth as experienced—and narrated—by young people living in rural areas. The article analyzes how discourses on urbanism and youth can be traced in young people’s narratives about their communities and their own lives as young people; how these discourses seem to frame the young people’s narratives and how they rearticulate these discourses through their accounts (Davies, 2000). In the article, we thus also focus attention on the cracks and opposing discourses that can be identified in the young people’s narratives, and how they influence their relationship with their local area.
Persistency of Biologic Therapies for Plaque Psoriasis in 2 Large Community Practices
Authors: Verma Luvneet , Mayba Julia N. , Gooderham Melinda J. , Verma Ankush , Papp Kim A.
Published: October 2017

Background:

Biologics have transformed the management of moderate to severe psoriasis. The persistency of biologics lacks real-world data.

Objectives:

To quantify drug survival of infliximab (IFX), adalimumab (ADA), etanercept (ETA), and ustekinumab (UST) and to identify potential factors affecting drug survival.

Methods:

An observational, retrospective 2-centre study consisting of 906 patients from private practices in Ontario between July 2003 and June 13, 2016, was conducted, including patients with plaque psoriasis receiving commercial treatment with ADA, ETA, IFX, and UST. Paper and electronic records of each patient were reviewed.

Results:

Median survival times for UST, IFX, ADA, and ETA were respectively, in months, 68, 23, 33, and 28. Female sex was determined to be a statistically significant positive predictor of drug survival. Our study was consistent with the literature in that UST had the highest survival rate compared to the other biologics, and the shape of our drug survival curve suggested that loss of drug efficacy is a stochastic occurrence. Compared to other studies, our data exhibited lower survival rates at various time points for all the biologics studied, and female sex did not predict drug survival in other studies. We also investigated potential reasons for differences in biologic survival times between different practices; the main differentiator was drug dosage, as higher dosages were associated with greater survival.

Conclusion:

UST has a higher drug survival rate than ADA, ETA, and IFX, as observed in other studies. When practice patterns are compared, dosage difference is the main factor that may cause differing survival rates.
Hidradenitis Suppurativa: A Novel Model of Care and an Integrative Strategy to Adopt an Orphan Disease
Authors: Gulliver Wayne , Landells Ian D. R. , Morgan David , Pirzada Syed
Published: October 2017

Unnecessary investigations, inappropriate treatment, worsening disease, and frustration for both patients and health care professionals are the hallmarks of hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) management. In light of a new treatment algorithm and biologic therapies made available to patients, an HS model of care is outlined in this article. The recommendations and management strategy presented here have been developed to help address the currently unmet needs of this patient population. The patient-centred model of care and disease management strategies were developed through the guidance and recommendations of HS medical experts in Newfoundland and Labrador. This article lays the foundation for the resources and steps required to change the status of this orphan disease and firmly embed patients with HS within a coordinated and integrative system of care.
The evolving role of people with MS in clinical research—Some progress but more is needed
Authors: Smith Kathryn
Published: October 2017

People with multiple sclerosis (MS) have been participants in clinical trials over many years, enabling the development and approval of many treatments for relapsing-remitting MS. Today, people with MS expect to be active collaborators in clinical trials and throughout the research and development process. Researchers and clinicians can benefit from including people with MS in all aspects of research and trials, and are urged to do so, so that we can move forward more quickly in developing needed treatments for progressive MS.
Clinical trial design for progressive MS trials
Authors: Pardini Matteo , Cutter Gary , Sormani Maria Pia
Published: October 2017

The design of clinical trials is a key aspect to maximizing the possibility to detect a treatment effect. This fact is particularly challenging in progressive multiple sclerosis (PMS) studies due to the uncertainty about the right target and/or outcome in phase-2 studies. The aim of this review is to evaluate the current challenges facing the design of clinical trials for PMS. The selection of patients, the instrumental and clinical outcomes that can be used in PMS trials, and issues in their design will be covered in this report.
Advancing trial design in progressive multiple sclerosis
Authors: Fox Robert J , Chataway Jeremy
Published: October 2017

The failure of a majority of clinical trials in progressive multiple sclerosis (MS) has highlighted the need to reconsider how these trials are designed and conducted, and many areas deserve focus. Basic scientists are reconceptualising the pathophysiology of progressive MS into three broad areas: systemic inflammation, compartmentalized inflammation and non-inflammatory neurodegeneration, with the latter two becoming predominant as the disease progresses. This framework will guide the choice of experimental therapies. Previous clinical trials have highlighted how participant selection can have a significant impact on study outcome. Phase 2 biomarkers which are biologically stable, dynamically changing over time, and easy to assess in multi-centre studies are greatly needed. Shortcomings inherent in the Expanded Disability Status Scale are prompting the development and validation of better clinical measures. The standard two-arm, fixed-duration trial paradigm has been challenged with new, innovative approaches that can test more therapies efficiently. International collaboratives such as the Progressive MS Alliance will support increased dialogue with regulators, industry and other funding agencies. Better engagement with people living with progressive MS will transform them from simply being the recipient of MS therapies to partners in the search for new treatments. Focused, targeted action will drive further development of effective therapies for progressive MS.
Fluid biomarker and electrophysiological outcome measures for progressive MS trials
Authors: Barro Christian , Leocani Letizia , Leppert David , Comi Giancarlo , Kappos Ludwig , Kuhle Jens
Published: October 2017

Progressive multiple sclerosis (MS) is characterized by insidious clinical worsening that is difficult to accurately quantify and predict. Biofluid markers and electrophysiological measures are potential candidate outcome measures in clinical trials, allowing the quantification of nervous damage occurring in the disease. Neurofilaments are highly specific neuronal proteins. They may have come closest to such applications by their higher concentrations repeatedly demonstrated in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in all stages of MS, during relapses, their responsiveness to disease-modifying treatments in relapsing and progressive MS and their associations with measures of inflammatory and degenerative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) outcomes. Digital single-molecule array (Simoa) technology improves accuracy of bioassays in the quantification of neurofilament light chain (NfL) in serum and plasma. NfL seems to mark a common final path of neuroaxonal injury independent of specific causal pathways. CSF and blood levels of NfL are highly correlated across various diseases including MS, suggesting that blood measurements may be useful in assessing response to treatment and predicting future disease activity. Other biomarkers like matrix metalloproteinases, chemokines, or neurotrophic factors have not been studied to a similar extent. Such measures, especially in blood, need further validation to enter the trial arena or clinical practice. The broadening armamentarium of highly sensitive assay technologies in the future may shed even more light on patient heterogeneity and mechanisms leading to disability in MS. Evoked potentials (EPs) are used in clinical practice to measure central conduction of central sensorimotor pathways. They correlate with and predict the severity of clinical involvement of their corresponding function. Their validation for use in multicenter studies is still lacking, with the exception of visual EPs. If further validated, EPs and fluid biomarkers would represent useful outcome measures for clinical trials, being related to specific mechanisms of the ongoing pathologic changes.
Seven years’ follow-up of comparative study between stenting and medication for treatment of symptomatic vertebrobasilar artery stenosis
Authors: Wang Jun , Zhong Changyang , Zhang Yan , Wei Yingnan , Liu Huili , Wu Chunli , Yan Yongxing
Published: October 2017

Objective

Endovascular stent-assistant angioplasty (ESAA) is a valid treatment for symptomatic vertebrobasilar artery stenosis (SVAS), but the long-term effect and the improvement of condition compared with medication treatment are unknown. This study investigated the long-term efficacy of ESAA in patients with moderate and severe SVAS, and compared the efficacy with medication treatment.

Materials and methods

We conducted a retrospective analysis of clinical data of 43 patients with moderate and severe SVAS hospitalized in our department. According to different treatment methods they were divided into 29 cases in an ESAA group and 14 cases in a medication treatment group. During the follow-up period, the degree of vascular stenosis, vascular blood flow velocity, restenosis rate, recovery of neurological function and the incidence of cerebral ischemic events in the two groups were analyzed.

Results

The average clinical follow-up period was 89.4 ± 10.2 months. Before treatment, the stenosis rate and average blood flow velocity of the two groups were not statistically significant ( p > 0.05). During the follow-up period, both were significantly lower than the medication treatment group ( p < 0.01). In the ESAA group, three cases of stent stenosis, and three cases in the medication treatment group were completely occluded. The total ischemic events in ESAA group were three cases, compared with nine cases in the medication treatment group; the difference was statistically significant ( p < 0.05).

Conclusion

ESAA has a long-term effect in the treatment of symptomatic moderate and severe vertebrobasilar artery stenosis. It is superior to medication therapy in preventing posterior circulation ischemia (PCI), but a larger sample size is still needed to confirm the study.
Usefulness for the combination of G protein- and β-arrestin-biased ligands of μ-opioid receptors: Prevention of antinociceptive tolerance
Authors: Mori Tomohisa , Kuzumaki Naoko , Arima Takamichi , Narita Michiko , Tateishi Ryunosuke , Kondo Takashige , Hamada Yusuke , Kuwata Hirotsugu , Kawata Miho , Yamazaki Mitsuaki , Sugita Kazuyuki , Matsuzawa Akinobu , Baba Kanae , Yamauchi Takayasu , Higashiyama Kimio , Nonaka Miki , Miyano Kanako , Uezono Yasuhito , Narita Minoru
Published: October 2017

Background

µ-Opioid receptor internalization is considered to be critically linked to antinociceptive tolerance. Although µ-opioid receptor agonists have been administered simultaneously with other drugs to control pain, little information is available regarding opioid–opioid interactions. Therefore, the present study was designed to further investigate the utility of a new G protein-biased ligand for µ-opioid receptors, TRV130, which has an antinociceptive effect without β-arrestin-dependent µ-opioid receptor internalization, and its combination with fentanyl using µ-opioid receptor-expressing cells and mice.

Results

In the present study, we confirmed that fentanyl produced a profound increase in β-arrestin-2 recruitment accompanied by µ-opioid receptor internalization, whereas TRV130 did not induce either the recruitment of β-arrestin-2 or µ-opioid receptor internalization in µ-opioid receptor-expressing cells. Under these conditions, β-arrestin-2 recruitment accompanied by µ-opioid receptor internalization induced by fentanyl was abolished by TRV130, whereas TRV130 did not alter the reduction of cyclic adenosine monophosphate formation by fentanyl in µ-opioid receptor-expressing cells. In a behavioral assay, TRV130 exerted an antinociceptive effect in a hot-plate test in mice. In a combination test, the antinociceptive effect of TRV130 was synergistically increased by fentanyl. Fentanyl induced antihyperalgesia and development of its tolerance under a neuropathic pain-like state following sciatic nerve ligation. However, treatment of mice with an antinociceptive dose of TRV130 did not induce the rapid development of tolerance to its antihyperalgesic effect under a neuropathic pain-like state. Furthermore, the rapid development of tolerance to the antihyperalgesic effect induced by fentanyl plus TRV130 in mice with sciatic nerve ligation was not observed, unlike in the case of fentanyl alone.

Conclusions

These findings provide evidence that activation of the G protein-biased pathway through µ-opioid receptors can alter signaling in the β-arrestin-2 pathway linked to the stimulation of µ-opioid receptors. Furthermore, the combination of G protein-biased and β-arrestin-biased ligands of µ-opioid receptors exerts an ideal antinociceptive effect without the rapid development of antinociceptive tolerance.
Performance evaluation of parallel re-computing algorithm in different data distribution modes
Authors: Dou Wanfeng , Miao Shoushuai
Published: October 2017

With the rapid increase of spatial data resolution, the huge volume of datasets makes geo-computation more time-consuming especially when operating some complex algorithms, i.e. viewshed analysis and drainage network extraction in digital terrain analysis. Parallel computing is regarded as an efficient solution by utilizing more computing resources. Among them, the stable and credible services play an irreplaceable role in parallel computing, especially when an error occurs in the large-scale scientific computing. In this paper, a master/slave approach to implement the parallel re-computing is proposed based on redundancy mechanism. Once some errors in application layer are detected, the original data block with computation errors is further partitioned into several sub-blocks which are re-computed by the surviving processes concurrently to improve the efficiency of failure recovery. The multi-thread strategy in the main process is responsible for the distribution of data blocks, detecting errors and starting re-computing procedure concurrently. Performance evaluation is conducted in different data distributed modes by theory analysis. The experimental results show that the performance of fault-tolerant parallel computing is different by way of adopting different data distribution modes.
Examining the effectiveness of a cognitive intervention to improve cognitive function in a population of older adults living with HIV: a pilot study
Authors: Frain Judy A. , Chen Ling
Published: October 2017

Objective:

The purpose of this randomized-controlled pilot study was to explore the effectiveness of a home-based computerized cognitive training intervention in improving cognitive function in a population of older adults with mild cognitive impairment who are living with HIV.

Methods:

In all, 24 participants were enrolled in this study. All study participants were impaired [defined as Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) score < 26]; 12 were randomly assigned to a computer-training intervention group and 12 to a control group. The intervention group used a home-based computerized cognitive training program for 8 weeks, while the control group received health-related newsletter via email and follow-up phone calls. Cognitive function was measured at study entry, immediately post intervention, and 8 and 16 weeks post intervention

Results:

This study achieved a 92% retention rate, losing two persons from the intervention group. Participants in the intervention group scored significantly higher on cognitive testing immediately post intervention compared to the control group: F(1, 19) = 4.92, p = 0.04. The partial Eta squared of 0.32 indicates a small to moderate effect size.

Discussion:

Cognitive improvement was seen immediately after the intervention, and cognitive improvement was still evident 16 weeks post intervention. Cognitive training could be considered as an option for older adults with HIV experiencing mild cognitive impairment.
International Migration and Welfare Implications
Authors: Sinha Chaitali
Published: October 2017

This article surveys the current trend in international migration of labour, particularly from developing countries, with special emphasis on the welfare aspect of emigration on the remaining residents, and it also investigates the tension between brain drain and brain gain. It is evident from the existing literature that welfare of the remaining residents of a labour-sending developing economy can be influenced positively or negatively by exit of its skilled labour force. A detailed survey of the literature finds that positive probability of migration to a rich country raises the average skill level in the poor origin country. Migration in these studies work as a substitute for domestic tax-subsidy schemes aimed at raising the independently chosen low level of human capital to a socially desirable state. Related studies show that there can be both positive and negative impact of remittances on the welfare of the source country.

JEL Classification: F22, F24, J24
Risk Factors for Lower Extremity Overuse Injuries in Female Youth Soccer Players
Authors: O’Kane John W. , Neradilek Moni , Polissar Nayak , Sabado Lori , Tencer Allan , Schiff Melissa A.
Published: October 2017

Background:

Youth soccer injuries are common and of increasing concern, with sport specialization occurring at younger ages. Limited research is available regarding overuse injuries and risk factors in young female athletes.

Purpose:

To identify the number and rate of overuse injuries in female soccer players (ages 12-15 years), describe the anatomic location and type of injury, and evaluate contributing risk factors.

Study Design:

Case-control study; Level of evidence, 3.

Methods:

A total of 351 female youth soccer players, ages 12 to 15 years, from Washington State were evaluated from 2008 to 2012. Players with lower extremity overuse injuries were identified through weekly emails and were interviewed by telephone to obtain data on injury type and body region. We evaluated the association between overuse injuries and preseason risk factors, including joint hypermobility, hip and knee muscle strength, and jump biomechanics, using Poisson regression to estimate relative risk (RR) and 95% CIs.

Results:

The incidence rate for first-time lower extremity overuse injuries was 1.7 per 1000 athlete-exposure hours (AEH; 95% CI, 1.4-2.2), and that for repeat injuries was 3.4 per 1000 AEH (95% CI, 2.1-5.6). Knee injuries accounted for 47% of overuse injuries. Increased valgus was associated with a 3.2-fold increased risk (95% CI, 1.52-6.71) for knee injury. A 1–standard deviation (SD) increase in hamstring strength was associated with a 35% decreased risk (RR, 0.65; 95% CI, 0.46-0.91) for overuse knee injuries, and a 1-SD increase in quadriceps strength was associated with a 30% decreased risk (RR, 0.70; 95% CI, 0.50-0.98). A 1-SD increase in hip flexor strength was associated with a 28% decreased risk (RR, 0.72; 95% CI, 0.51-1.00) for overuse knee injuries, and a 1-SD increase in external rotation strength was associated with a 35% decreased risk (RR, 0.65; 95% CI, 0.46-0.91). Playing on more than 1 soccer team was associated with a 2.5-fold increased risk (95% CI, 1.08-5.35) for overuse knee injuries, and participating in other physical activities was associated with a 61% decreased risk (odds ratio, 0.39; 95% CI, 0.15-0.81).

Conclusion:

In this study, lower extremity overuse injuries in female youth soccer players affected primarily the knee. Lower knee separation distance, decreased lower extremity strength, and playing on more than 1 soccer team increased injury risk.
Cultural Concordance and Health Accessibility Differentials in Israel: Field Survey in Tel Aviv
Authors: Malhotra Divya
Published: October 2017

Inequity occupies an important place in the ongoing global debate on health care accessibility. Israel, with its culturally diverse population and global reputation for an advanced health system, stands to be an ideal case to examine this subject. Economic disparity and geographical barriers are well-documented themes in the extant literature on accessibility gaps. However, the centrality of cultural factors in health care accessibility gaps remains understudied, especially in case of Israel. This study attempts to bridge the gap by examining cultural barriers to health care in Israel, within the conceptual framework of concordance using four communication variables, namely, language, gender, religion, and ethnicity. Based on the analysis of secondary information and primary data collected from field study in the city of Tel Aviv during February 2016, the article discusses how language and gender are main cultural barriers to health care in the study area, while religion and ethnicity do not influence health access significantly.
Stories Lost and Found
Authors: Enciso Patricia E.
Published: October 2017

As literacy scholars, we continually engage with the ongoing politics of imagination in everyday life across silenced histories and uncertain futures. In this article, I draw on sociocultural theories and philosophies of imagination as well as narrative and global discourse theories to argue that literacy research, in the context of social inequality, depends on our capacity to imagine otherwise and to tell and listen to stories without colonizing what is unknown and unfamiliar. I illustrate the consequences of (im)mobilizing imagination, and the effort to speak and be heard despite inequalities, by telling stories from my family’s history and by analyzing youth conarrations of their cross-cultural lives.
Ruxolitinib-induced defects in DNA repair cause sensitivity to PARP inhibitors in myeloproliferative neoplasms
Authors: Nieborowska-Skorska Margaret , Maifrede Silvia , Dasgupta Yashodhara , Sullivan Katherine , Flis Sylwia , Le Bac Viet , Solecka Martyna , Belyaeva Elizaveta A. , Kubovcakova Lucia , Nawrocki Morgan , Kirschner Martin , Zhao Huaqing , Prchal Josef T. , Piwocka Katarzyna , Moliterno Alison R. , Wasik Mariusz , Koschmieder Steffen , Green Tony R. , Skoda Radek C. , Skorski Tomasz
Published: October 2017

Key Points

Ruxolitinib caused DNA repair defects and sensitized MPN stem and progenitor cells to PARP inhibitors. Quiescent and proliferating MPN cells were eliminated by ruxolitinib and olaparib plus or minus hydroxyurea.
Role of calcium in regulating the intra- and extracellular cleavage of von Willebrand factor by the protease ADAMTS13
Authors: Gogia Shobhit , Kelkar Anju , Zhang Changjie , Dayananda Kannayakanahalli M. , Neelamegham Sriram
Published: October 2017

Key Points

VWF A2-domain intracellular proteolysis within ECs is enhanced upon disrupting calcium binding (eg, in VWD type 2A mutants). VWF string cleavage on ECs is calcium independent and is strongly dependent on platelet binding.
Tales from a New, Mythic, and Activist South
Authors: Warren Kim Cary
Published: October 2017

This review of four books published about tourism in the US South examines the ways the region has struggled to reconcile a past rooted in slavery and violence and a modern era recast as industrial, technological, and attractive for tourists. With a focus on ghost tours, beaches, and new industries in Southern cities, these books examine the links between the construction of history and efforts to market the New South as a tourist destination.
Centralized Decision Making and Informed Lobbying
Authors: Lima Rafael Costa , Moreira Humberto , Verdier Thierry
Published: October 2017

We address the trade-off between centralized and decentralized decision making subject to influence from privately informed lobbies. We focus on informative equilibria with separating differentiable contribution schedules and identify an information transmission effect under centralized structures. Such effect decreases capture and increases welfare when lobbies have “aligned preferences.” The opposite effect holds for “polarized preferences.” We present two examples of this framework: local public goods and customs union agreements. Finally, we compare the policy outcomes from this political economy perspective to those under a normative mechanism design approach, and extend our analysis to the discussion of pooling equilibria. (JEL D72, D82, F13, F15, H41)
Non-Watson–Crick RNA synthesis suited to origin functions
Authors: Puthenvedu Deepa , Majerfeld Irene , Yarus Michael
Published: October 2017

A templated RNA synthesis is characterized in which G5′pp5′G accelerates synthesis of A5′pp5′A from pA and chemically activated ImpA precursors. Similar acceleration is not observable in the presence of UppU, CppC, AppG, AppA, or pG alone. Thus, it seems likely that AppA is templated by GppG via a form or forms of G:A base-pairing. AppA also appears, more slowly, via a previously known untemplated second-order chemical route. Such AppA synthesis requires only ordinary near-neutral solutions containing monovalent and divalent salts, and rates are only slightly sensitive to variation in pH. Templated synthesis rates are first order in pA, ImpA, and template GppG; thus third order overall. Therefore, this reaction resembles cross-templating of AppA on poly(U), but is notably slower and less sensitive to temperature. Viewing AppA as a coenzyme analog, GppG templating provides a simpler molecular route, termed para-templating, to encoded chemical functions. Para-templating can also arise from a single, localized nucleobase geosynthetic event which yields purines. It requires only a single backbone-forming chemistry. Thus it may have appeared earlier and served as evolutionary precursor for more complex forms of encoded genetic expression.
Για το βιβλίο: Ξένος, Σπύρος (2015). Η απομυθοποίηση μιας συλλογικής αυταπάτης. Οι οικονομικές διαθέσεις και πρακτικές των «ωφελούμενων» ανέργων του Προγράμματος ΤοπΕΚΟ Ζακύνθου. Συμβολή στα κεκτημένα μιας κοινωνιολογίας της νέας οικονομίας των συμβολικών αγαθών.
Authors: Μπαλούρδος Διονύσης
Published: October 2017

Δε διατίθεται περίληψη / no abstract available
Χωρικές και κοινωνικές διαστάσεις των οικιστικών πολιτικών για τους μετανάστες και πρόσφυγες της Ελλάδας: μια κριτική επισκόπηση
Authors: Γεμενετζή Γεωργία , Παπαγεωργίου Μαριλένα
Published: October 2017

Η εργασία αξιολογεί κριτικά αφενός πτυχές των οικιστικών πολιτικών των περιόδων 1920 και 1990, αφετέρου τα εγχειρήματα στεγαστικής διαχείρισης της σημερινής προσφυγικής και μεταναστευτικής κρίσης. Στόχος είναι η αξιοποίηση των εμπειριών του παρελθόντος για τη διαμόρφωση της κατάλληλης οικιστικής πολιτικής για την τρέχουσα κρίση. Αυτή, για να είναι κοινωνικά και οικονομικά επωφελής, θα πρέπει να ικανοποιεί τις ακόλουθες αρχές: α) γεωγραφική διασπορά του νέου πληθυσμού βάσει χωροταξικών κριτηρίων και συνεκτίμησης των επιδιώξεων και δεξιοτήτων του, β) ένταξη των στεγαστικών επιλογών στο πλαίσιο ολοκληρωμένου πολεοδομικού σχεδιασμού, γ) διασπορά του νέου πληθυσμού στον πολεοδομικό και κοινωνικό ιστό μέσω της κοινωνικής ενοικιαζόμενης κατοικίας.