bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Geologia e geofísica do greenstone belt Vila Nova, porção NE do Cráton Amazônico, Amapá, Brasil
Authors: Borghetti Cristiano , Philipp Ruy Paulo
Published: April 2017

Poucos afloramentos e um acentuado intemperismo caracterizam a região do greenstone belt Vila Nova, no sudeste do Amapá. Este artigo vale-se de dados aerogeofísicos na interpretação geológica e estrutural durante o mapeamento geológico, objetivando aumentar o entendimento geológico e tectônico dessa porção do Cráton Amazônico. A interpretação qualitativa das imagens magnetométricas e gama-espectrométricas geradas para o projeto foi efetuada em ambiente de Sistema de Informações Geográficas (SIG). O reconhecimento de unidades magnetométricas e gamaespectrométricas presentes na área de estudo teve como base a classificação hierárquica dos polígonos delineados pela interpretação visual. A partir dessa análise foram delimitados os principais domínios geológicos e definidos os traçados geológico-estruturais, em conjunto com dados geológicos de campo, dados geofísicos e da análise petrográfica. Essa integração permitiu delimitar as rochas das áreas do embasamento arqueano composto por ortognaisses e granitóides do Complexo Tumucumaque, as rochas metavulcano‑sedimentares do Complexo Vila Nova e os maciços graníticos intrusivos de idade paleoproterozoica. A integração entre os dados geofísicos e de campo resultou no aumento da definição da cartografia geológica, ressaltando-se a importância dessa metodologia para o reconhecimento de tramas estruturais e litológicas complexas em áreas de pouca exposição e dificuldade de acesso.
Prevalence and Clinical Implication of Double Mutations in Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy
Authors: Fourey Dana , Care Melanie , Siminovitch Katherine A. , Weissler-Snir Adaya , Hindieh Waseem , Chan Raymond H. , Gollob Michael H. , Rakowski Harry , Adler Arnon
Published: April 2017

Background—

Available data suggests that double mutations in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy are not rare and are associated with a more severe phenotype. Most of this data, however, is based on noncontemporary variant classification.

Methods and Results—

Clinical data of all hypertrophic cardiomyopathy patients with 2 rare genetic variants were retrospectively reviewed and compared with a group of patients with a single disease-causing variant. Furthermore, a literature search was performed for all studies with information on prevalence and outcome of patients with double mutations. Classification of genetic variants was reanalyzed according to current guidelines. In our cohort (n=1411), 9% of gene-positive patients had 2 rare variants in sarcomeric genes but only in 1 case (0.4%) were both variants classified as pathogenic. Patients with 2 rare variants had a trend toward younger age at presentation when compared with patients with a single mutation. All other clinical variables were similar. In data pooled from cohort studies in the literature, 8% of gene-positive patients were published to have double mutations. However, after reanalysis of reported variants, this prevalence diminished to 0.4%. All patients with 2 radical mutations in
MYBPC3
in the literature had severe disease with death or heart transplant during the first year of life. Data on other specific genotype–phenotype correlations were scarce.

Conclusions—

Double mutations in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy are much less common than previously estimated. With the exception of double radical
MYBPC3
mutations, there is little data to guide clinical decision making in cases with double mutations.
Incremental Value of Transthoracic Doppler Echocardiography‐Assessed Coronary Flow Reserve in Patients With Suspected Myocardial Ischemia Undergoing Myocardial Perfusion Scintigraphy
Authors: Gan Li‐Ming , Svedlund Sara , Wittfeldt Ann , Eklund Charlotte , Gao Sinsia , Matejka Göran , Jeppsson Anders , Albertsson Per , Omerovic Elmir , Lerman Amir
Published: April 2017

Background

Adenosine‐assisted transthoracic Doppler‐derived coronary flow reserve (
TDE
‐
CFR
) reflects coronary vascular function. The prognostic and incremental value of left anterior descending coronary artery
TDE
‐
CFR
above myocardial perfusion scintigraphy in patients with suspected myocardial ischemia has not yet been studied.

Methods and Results

Three hundred seventy‐one patients (mean age, 62.3±8.7 years; 46.8% males) referred to myocardial perfusion scintigraphy attributed to suspected myocardial ischemia were included in the study. The
TDE
‐
CFR
result was blinded to the referring physician. Patients were followed up regarding major cardiovascular events, defined as cardiovascular death, myocardial infarction, or acute revascularization during a median follow‐up time of 4.5 years. A
TDE
‐
CFR
value of ≤2.0 was considered reduced. Major cardiovascular events occurred during follow‐up in 60 patients (16.2%). A reduced
TDE
‐
CFR
was detected in 76 patients (20.5%). Patients with reduced
TDE
‐
CFR
had an event rate of 36.8% compared to 10.8% in patients with normal
TDE
‐
CFR
(unadjusted hazard ratio, 4.63; 95% CI, 2.78–7.69;
P
<0.001). In a multivariate model,
TDE
‐
CFR
remained a significant independent predictor of major cardiovascular events. The major cardiovascular events rate was 7.5% in patients without myocardial perfusion scintigraphy‐detected myocardial ischemia and normal
TDE
‐
CFR
(n=200), 24.2% in patients without ischemia but with reduced
TDE
‐
CFR
(n=33), and 46.5% in patients with both myocardial perfusion scintigraphy–detected myocardial ischemia and a reduced
TDE
‐
CFR
(n=43;
P
<0.001).

Conclusions

Coronary microvascular dysfunction, as determined by
TDE
‐
CFR,
is a strong independent predictor of cardiovascular events and adds incremental prognostic value compared with myocardial perfusion scintigraphy. The current study supports routine assessment of
CFR
in patients with suspected ischemic heart disease.
Zayn al-Dīn al-ʿĀmilī’s Kashf al-Rība ʿan Aḥkām al-Ghība and Abū Ḥāmid al-Ghazālī’s Iḥyāʾ ʿUlūm al-Dīn
Authors: Stewart Devin J.
Published: April 2017

The treatise Kashf al-rība ʿan aḥkām al-ghība (“The Removal of Doubt from the Rules concerning Malicious Gossip”) was composed in 949/1542 by the famous Twelver jurist Zayn al-Dīn al-ʿĀmilī (d. 965/1558), known as al-Shahīd al-thānī. It is argued here that Zayn al-Dīn created this treatise by rearranging and editing several sections of al-Ghazālī’s great compendium on Islamic theology and ethics, Iḥyāʾ ʿulūm al-dīn, that focus on “malicious gossip” (ghība), “bearing tales” (namīma), “speaking with two tongues” (kalām dhī l-lisānayn), and “envy” (ḥasad), and by adding Shīʿite ḥadīths and other reports culled from the Kāfī of al-Kulaynī (d. 329/941), Muḥyī al-Dīn Ibn Zuhra al-Ḥalabī’s (fl. 13th c.) collection of forty ḥadīth reports, and other Shīʿite works. In addition to producing a useful ethical work directed at a Shīʿite audience, Zayn al-Dīn may have intended this work to address negative reactions to his popularity as a teacher in Jabal ʿĀmil and particularly to his claim to have attained the rank of mujtahid, which he had made public in 948/1541.
L’auteur des Rasāʾil Ikhwān al-Ṣafāʾ selon les sources ismaéliennes ṭayyibites
Authors: De Smet Daniel
Published: April 2017

L’identité des auteurs desRasāʾil Ikhwān al-Ṣafāʾet leur affiliation à l’ismaélisme demeurent un sujet controversé dans la recherche moderne. Les ismaéliens de tradition ṭayyibite attribuent lesÉpîtres, y compris laRisāla al-Jāmiʿa, à « la personne éminente » (al-shakhṣ al-fāḍil), qui ne serait autre que « Aḥmad », un des mystérieux imams cachés entre le 7eimam Muḥammad b. Ismāʿīl et le premier calife fatimide ʿAbd Allāh al-Mahdī. Aḥmad aurait entrepris la composition desÉpîtres, censées contenir la « vraie » philosophie telle qu’elle fut enseignée par les imams, pour contrecarrer le projet du calife abbasside al-Maʾmūn. Celui-ci est accusé de vouloir ruiner l’islam en faisant traduire en arabe des ouvrages écrits par des auteurs païens hostiles aux prophètes et aux imams. LesRasāʾil Ikhwān al-Ṣafāʾferaient ainsi contrepoids au mouvement de traduction gréco-arabe patronné par les Abbassides à Bagdad. Dans ma contribution, j’essaie de retracer la genèse de cette théorie en examinant les sources ismaéliennes, ṭayyibites en particulier.

The identity of the authors of theRasāʾil Ikhwān al-Ṣafāʾand their relation with the Ismaʿili movement still are highly controversial issues. The Ṭayyibī Ismaʿilis ascribe theRasāʾil, along with theRisāla al-Jāmiʿa, to « the eminent person » (al-shakhṣ al-fāḍil), often identified with « Aḥmad », one of the mysterious hidden imams between the seventh imam Muḥammad b. Ismāʿīl and the first Fatimid caliph ʿAbd Allāh al-Mahdī. This Aḥmad is supposed to have composed theEpistles, containing the « true » philosophy as it was taught by the imams, in order to neutralize the impious project of the Abbasid caliph al-Maʾmūn, suspected to have commissioned Arabic translations of pagan Greek books, with the sole aim of undermining Islam. TheRasāʾil Ikhwān al-Ṣafāʾare thus presented as a counterpart to the Greco-Arabic translation movement patronized by the Abbasids in Bagdad. In the present paper I examine the formation of this theory, based on Ismaʿili sources belonging mainly to the Ṭayyibī tradition.
Three new Eastern-Mediterranean endemic species of the Merodon aureus group (Diptera: Syrphidae)
Authors: VESELIĆ SANJA , VUJIĆ ANTE , RADENKOVIĆ SNEŽANA
Published: April 2017

The Merodon aureus group (Diptera: Syrphidae: Eristalinae) comprises a number of different subgroups and species complexes, including the M. bessarabicus subgroup, which is revised here. In this study, we present an identification key to species complexes and species within the M. bessarabicus subgroup and focus on clarifying the taxonomic status of previously described species within this subgroup, based on a study of the type material. Merodon flavicornis Macquart, a species with an unknown type locality, is re-evaluated and recognized as a valid Western Mediterranean species from France. We describe a new species, M. adriaticus sp. n., from M. bessarabicus subgroup, as well as another two species with a clearly separate position within the M. aureus group due to their distinct morphological features: M. nisi sp. n. and M. robustus sp. n.. Results of the present study indicate the high diversity and endemism levels of the genus Merodon in Europe.
Elevated Monocyte to High-Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol Ratio and Endothelial Dysfunction in Behçet Disease
Authors: Acikgoz Nusret , Kurtoğlu Ertuğrul , Yagmur Julide , Kapicioglu Yelda , Cansel Mehmet , Ermis Necip
Published: April 2017

Behçet disease (BD) is a multisystemic disorder characterized by endothelial dysfunction and inflammation. Monocyte to high-density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio (MHR) is a recently emerged indicator of inflammation and oxidative stress. Sixty patients with BD and 50 control individuals were included to investigate the relationship between MHR and endothelial dysfunction. Endothelial function was assessed by flow- and nitroglycerin-mediated dilatation technique (FMD and NMD, respectively). Serum high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) levels were measured in all study participants. The MHR and hsCRP levels were significantly higher in patients with active BD than in controls. Brachial artery FMD was significantly lower in patients with active BD than in controls. Brachial artery NMD was similar between groups. There was a strong inverse correlation between MHR and FMD and a strong positive correlation between MHR and serum hsCRP levels. Thus, elevated MHR may be a useful marker reflecting impaired endothelial function and systemic inflammation in patients with BD.
Effect of nano-SiO2 particles on the carbon fabric/resin friction materials by microwave-hydrothermal treatment
Authors: Fei Jie , Luo Dan , Wang Hongkun , Li Hejun , Huang Jianfeng , Luo Wei , Duan Xiao
Published: April 2017

Nano-SiO2 was grafted onto the carbon fabric surface under microwave-hydrothermal condition to improve the tribological properties of carbon fabric/resin friction materials with different treatment temperature. The carbon fibers and prepared samples were characterized by the Fourier transform infrared spectrophotometer, contact angle instrument, energy dispersive spectroscopy, universal material testing machine and field emission scanning electron microscopy. The tribological behaviors of the carbon fabric/resin friction materials were evaluated by a friction tester. The results indicated that nano-SiO2 particles were successfully grafted onto carbon fabric surface under microwave-hydrothermal condition, especially at 200℃ (contact angle was almost close to 0°), which obviously improved the hydrophilicity of carbon fabric surface. The wear rate of carbon fabric/resin friction materials with microwave-hydrothermal temperature of 200℃ reduced by 81.4%, ranging from 4.3 × 10−5 mm3J−1 to 0.8 × 10−5 mm3J−1. It could effectively enhance the bonding strength of carbon fabric and resin, which improved the friction-reduction and anti-wear abilities of the friction materials.
Optimal designing of SkSP-2 skip-lot sampling plan for normally distributed quality characteristics
Authors: Balamurali Saminathan , Subramani Jambulingam
Published: April 2017

Skip-lot sampling plans have been widely used in industries to reduce the inspection efforts on products that have an excellent quality history. These skip-lot sampling schemes are economically advantageous and useful to minimize the cost of the inspection of the final lots. Also, the skip-lot concept is sound and useful in the design of sampling plans. In this paper, we propose a designing methodology to determine the optimal parameters of a skip-lot sampling plan of type SkSP-2 when the quality characteristic under study follows a normal distribution. The optimal plan parameters are determined to minimize the average sample number subject to satisfying the producer’s and consumer’s risks simultaneously at the acceptable and limiting quality levels, respectively. An optimization problem is formulated in order to construct tables for determining the optimal parameters of the proposed sampling plan for both known and unknown standard deviation cases and the results are compared with the variables single sampling plans.
Insecurity as confinement: The entrenched politics of staying put in Delhi and Mumbai
Authors: Weinstein Liza
Published: April 2017

A growing literature on contested urban politics has revealed the political agency of seemingly marginal urban residents, including those experiencing the threat of eviction. Yet with much of this work highlighting single instances of successful resistance, the agency of informal urbanites can be overstated and much of what is understood as resistance may actually be confinement. This article addresses this issue by situating an ethnographic analysis of residential evictions in Delhi and Mumbai in historical perspective. Analyzing the character of insecurity since the 1950s, it demonstrates that historically rooted antagonisms and mobilized responses to insecurity have produced political stalemate. The comparative analysis reveals that while evictions in Delhi and Mumbai today occur in places with different histories and characters of insecurity, ongoing contestations between residents, activists, and local government in both cities have produced similar conditions of confinement.
Effects of Multicomponent Academic Vocabulary Instruction for English Learners With Learning Difficulties
Authors: Jozwik Sara L. , Douglas Karen H.
Published: April 2017

We provided a multicomponent academic vocabulary intervention to six English learners with learning difficulties in a fifth-grade general education setting. A multiple probe design across word sets and replicated across students evaluated the effects of the intervention on students’ use of expressive language to read and define content-specific academic vocabulary words. After the academic vocabulary intervention, which incorporated English as a Second Language and self-regulation procedures, students improved their abilities to read and define words above baseline levels. Students’ performance on follow-up measures at 1, 3, and 6 months revealed maintenance of positive effects. Evaluations of the intervention reflected high levels of student satisfaction. Implications for practice and further research are discussed.
Health Behaviors and Chronic Conditions Mediate the Protective Effects of Masculinity for Physical Performance in Older Adults
Authors: Ahmed Tamer , Vafaei Afshin , Auais Mohammad , Phillips Susan P. , Guralnik Jack , Zunzunegui M. V.
Published: April 2017

Objective: We estimated the 2-year incidence of poor physical performance according to gender roles and examined mediating pathways related to health behaviors and chronic conditions. Method: Data are from the International Mobility in Aging Study ( n = 1,676). The Bem Sex Role Inventory was used to classify participants into four gender roles as “masculine,” “feminine,” “androgynous,” and “undifferentiated.” Results: We found a higher incidence of poor physical performance among participants endorsing the feminine (adjusted incidence rate ratio [IRR] = 2.36, 95% confidence interval (CI) = [1.55, 3.60]) or the undifferentiated role (adjusted IRR = 2.19, 95% CI = [1.45, 3.30]) compared with the androgynous role. Smoking, physical activity, the number of chronic conditions, high body mass index, and depression were mediators of this association but not alcohol consumption. Discussion: This study provides evidence that gender roles are independently associated with physical performance. Health behaviors and chronic conditions are mediators of the relationship between gender roles and lower extremity physical function.
Repurposing Principles and Successful Pedagogical Techniques from Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood for the Early Childhood Music Classroom
Authors: Poole Harrison Grant
Published: April 2017

Fred Rogers’s television program, Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, connected with young children and educated them about difficult concepts for more than 30 years. The author analyzes and discusses several principles and pedagogical techniques that were used in Rogers’s television program, including communicating with children, establishing routines, managing expectations and transitions, presenting concepts through multiple formats, and exposing children to our multicultural world. Suggestions for repurposing and implementing the principles and pedagogical techniques for the early childhood music classroom are provided.
A Survey of School Nurse Emergency Preparedness 2014–2015
Authors: Ugalde Margaret R. , Guffey Danielle , Minard Charles G. , Giardino Angelo P. , Johnson Gwendolyn A.
Published: April 2017

Well-prepared school nurses are more likely to handle emergencies properly. Thus, assessing crisis management preparedness is important. In August 2014, a questionnaire was sent to 275 nurses in a large Texas school system to collect data about nurse and school characteristics, emergency frequency and management, and equipment availability. Completed surveys (201, 73%) were analyzed. Fisher’s exact test was used to evaluate comparisons among nurses’ confidence levels, school characteristics, emergencies, and medical emergency response plans (MERP). Logistic regression was used to estimate associations between characteristics and nurses reporting less confidence. Most respondents were experienced nurses. Shortness of breath was the most common event faced. Odds of less confidence were significantly higher among nurses with <5 years’ experience, working at elementary schools, schools without a MERP or where it was not practiced, or caring for <10 schoolchildren weekly. Overall, recommended emergency management guidelines were met.
Disability and sexuality: Desires and pleasures
Authors: Loeser Cassandra , Pini Barbara , Crowley Vicki
Published: April 2017

There is an ongoing missing discourse of pleasure in studies of sexuality and disability, and considerations of sexual pleasures and sexual desire in the lives of people with disabilities play very little part in public discourse. This opening article analyzes some of the major theoretical influences and debates informing prevailing assumptions about disability and sexuality. An exposition of the theoretical and conceptual terrains that underpin and shape this special issue works to canvas a series of often disparate sites of contestation, and suggests that disabled and sexual embodied subjectivities are much more than ‘asexual’ or ‘hypersexual’ pathological constructions. The articles explore the ways in which the intersection of disability and sexuality involves an understanding of the interlocking discourses of normality, sexuality, able-bodiedness, heteronormativity and desire, which can shape possibilities for sex, sexuality, pleasure and intimacy for people with a disability. What will become evident is that a greater attention to the phenomenology of sexual embodiment, pleasure, desire, and the diverse meanings of intimacy and the erotic, can make significant contributions to social and scholarly analyses of disability and sexuality. The utilization of different methodological approaches that can attend to complexity and diversity in the experience of sex and sexuality further constitutes part of the critique of ableist narratives of the ‘normal’ desiring and desirable subject that cannot account for the intersubjective conditions in which embodied subjectivity is constructed and pleasure experienced.
The Ideological Foundations of Affective Polarization in the U.S. Electorate
Authors: Webster Steven W. , Abramowitz Alan I.
Published: April 2017

Democratic and Republican partisans dislike the opposing party and its leaders far more than in the past. However, recent studies have argued that the rise of affective polarization in the electorate does not reflect growing policy or ideological differences between supporters of the two parties. According to this view, though Democratic and Republican elites are sharply divided along ideological lines, differences between the policy preferences of rank-and-file partisans remain modest. In this article, we show that there is a close connection between ideological and affective polarization. We present evidence from American National Election Studies surveys that opinions on social welfare issues have become increasingly consistent and divided along party lines and that social welfare ideology is now strongly related to feelings about the opposing party and its leaders. In addition, we present results from a survey experiment showing that ideological distance strongly influences feelings toward opposing party candidates and the party as a whole.
Testosterone suppression with a unique form of leuprorelin acetate as a solid biodegradable implant in patients with advanced prostate cancer: results from four trials and comparison with the traditional leuprorelin acetate microspheres formulation
Authors: Solarić Mladen , Bjartell Anders , Thyroff-Friesinger Ursula , Meani Davide
Published: April 2017

Background:

There are two slow-release ready-to-use forms of leuprorelin acetate (1-month and 3-month) that are available as solid, biodegradable implants for the treatment of advanced, hormone-sensitive prostate cancer. These implants have been shown to be as effective as traditional leuprorelin acetate microspheres for achieving successful testosterone suppression (⩽0.5 ng/ml) and lowering prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels. Here we further evaluate testosterone suppression levels from four clinical trials evaluating the 3-month leuprorelin implant, including analysis below the European Association of Urology (EAU) castration level (<0.2 ng/ml).

Methods:

Studies were conducted in patients with locally advanced/metastatic prostate cancer: (1) a randomised, controlled single-dose study comparing the leuprorelin implant with leuprorelin microspheres; (2) a single-arm, single-dose study of the leuprorelin implant; (3 and 4) two long-term studies with the leuprorelin implant administered twice, 12 or 16 weeks apart. Patients received 3-month leuprorelin (5 mg) implant or 3-month leuprorelin (10.72 mg) microspheres. Testosterone levels were analysed using radioimmunoassay or ultrasensitive liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry.

Results:

Both the leuprorelin implant and the leuprorelin microspheres achieved mean testosterone suppression (⩽0.5 ng/ml) within 4 weeks for >3 months. In both long-term, single-arm studies with the leuprorelin implant, median values of testosterone ⩽0.2 ng/ml were achieved at Week 4 and maintained until study completion (6 and 8 months); PSA decrease was also observed versus baseline.

Conclusions:

Long-lasting steady serum levels of testosterone, comparable with orchiectomy and consistent with the EAU-recommended castration level (<0.2 ng/ml), were achieved at Week 4 and maintained up to 8 months in men with advanced prostate cancer who received the leuprorelin implant.
Phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitor to riociguat transition is associated with hemodynamic and symptomatic improvement in pulmonary hypertension
Authors: Davey Ryan , Benza Raymond L. , Murali Srinivas , Raina Amresh
Published: April 2017

Riociguat is a soluble guanylate cyclase stimulator approved for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension and chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension. We studied the clinical and hemodynamics effects of transitioning 12 pulmonary hypertension patients from Phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitor (PDE5i) to riociguat, and demonstrated a significant increase in cardiac index, fall in pulmonary vascular resistance, and improvement in functional class with this switch. Switch from PDE5i to riociguat appeared to be safe and fairly well tolerated in most patients.
Achieving optimal technology use: A proposed model for health technology reassessment
Authors: Soril Lesley JJ , MacKean Gail , Noseworthy Tom W , Leggett Laura E , Clement Fiona M
Published: April 2017

Background:

Healthcare providers, managers and policy-makers in many jurisdictions are focused on a common goal: optimizing value and quality of care provided to their citizens within a resource envelope. Health technology reassessment is a structured, evidence-based assessment of the clinical, social, ethical and economic effects of a technology currently used in the healthcare system to inform optimal use of that technology in comparison with its alternatives. There are, however, few practical experiences with health technology reassessment and, as such, a nascent theoretical and methodological base. Health technology reassessment is a key strategy to achieve optimal healthcare resource utilization, and establishing a model for health technology reassessment is a required methodological step.

Methods and results:

The purpose of this article is to answer three formative questions: (1) What is health technology reassessment? (2) When should a health technology reassessment be implemented? (3) What is the role of health technology reassessment in evidence-informed health policy? Finally, we propose a conceptual framework for health technology reassessment, which others can modify, adapt, or adopt in their own context. The model consists of three broad phases and six iterative stages: (1) identification, (2) prioritization, (3) evidence synthesis, (4) determine policy/practice recommendation, (5) policy/practice implementation and (6) monitoring and evaluation. Two foundational components (meaningful stakeholder engagement and ongoing knowledge exchange and utilization) are represented across all stages.

Conclusion:

This description of health technology reassessment and the proposed model can be used by healthcare policy-makers and researchers to advance the field of technology management, with the goal of achieving optimal use throughout a technology’s lifecycle.
Teaching Bonhoeffer: Pedagogy and peripheral practices
Authors: Smith David I
Published: April 2017

Some of Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s major writings emerged from the experience of planning and leading an innovative seminary at Finkenwalde, where there was a strong focus on intentional communal practices. This article uses the process of designing an undergraduate course focused on Bonhoeffer’s book Life Together as a lens through which to question pedagogical practices. The concept of legitimate peripheral participation is used to question the relationship between devotional practice and critical reflection and to explore course design using formative practices.
A Structural Equation Model of Determinants of the Perceived Impact of Teachers’ Professional Development—The Abu Dhabi Application
Authors: Badri Masood , Alnuaimi Ali , Yang Guang , Al Rashidi Asma , Al Sumaiti Rabaa
Published: April 2017

The purpose of this study is to use statistical evidence to better understand professional development impact and its causal determinants. The study creates a plausible structural equation model (SEM) and tests it. This study uses Abu Dhabi teacher’s data drawn from the Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS) 2013. A sample of 4,941 teachers from public and private schools participated in the study. The proposed model represented the hypothesis that the latent variable impact of professional development is causally related to other latent variables related to school climate (job/work, school, teacher/student, and attitude), feedback (appraisal, emphasis, and effect), environment, teacher’s variables (beliefs and general), student’s behavior, and perceived needs for professional development. Results show that professional development impacts are most influenced by feedback effect, school climate (attitude and teacher/student), and student behavior. In addition, variables such as school climate (school), feedback emphasis, and school climate (job/work) have significant effects but indirectly. Teaching in general shows a direct path (effect) to effects; it also shows an indirect effect (through the mediation of feedback effects). The perceived impact is affected also by teacher’s gender and age group, and type of school (public or private). Results show that perceived needs, feedback appraisal, and teacher’s beliefs do not affect professional development’s perceived impact significantly. Teacher categories (gender and age) and school categories (public or private) had significant effects on teachers’ attitude with regard to most constructs of professional development.
Iatrogenic Spinal Cord Injury Resulting From Cervical Spine Surgery
Authors: Daniels Alan H. , Hart Robert A. , Hilibrand Alan S. , Fish David E. , Wang Jeffrey C. , Lord Elizabeth L. , Buser Zorica , Tortolani P. Justin , Stroh D. Alex , Nassr Ahmad , Currier Bradford L. , Sebastian Arjun S. , Arnold Paul M. , Fehlings Michael G. , Mroz Thomas E. , Riew K. Daniel
Published: April 2017

Study Design:

Retrospective cohort study of prospectively collected data.

Objective:

To examine the incidence of iatrogenic spinal cord injury following elective cervical spine surgery.

Methods:

A retrospective multicenter case series study involving 21 high-volume surgical centers from the AOSpine North America Clinical Research Network was conducted. Medical records for 17 625 patients who received cervical spine surgery (levels from C2 to C7) between January 1, 2005, and December 31, 2011, were reviewed to identify occurrence of iatrogenic spinal cord injury.

Results:

In total, 3 cases of iatrogenic spinal cord injury following cervical spine surgery were identified. Institutional incidence rates ranged from 0.0% to 0.24%. Of the 3 patients with quadriplegia, one underwent anterior-only surgery with 2-level cervical corpectomy, one underwent anterior surgery with corpectomy in addition to posterior surgery, and one underwent posterior decompression and fusion surgery alone. One patient had complete neurologic recovery, one partially recovered, and one did not recover motor function.

Conclusion:

Iatrogenic spinal cord injury following cervical spine surgery is a rare and devastating adverse event. No standard protocol exists that can guarantee prevention of this complication, and there is a lack of consensus regarding evaluation and treatment when it does occur. Emergent imaging with magnetic resonance imaging or computed tomography myelography to evaluate for compressive etiology or malpositioned instrumentation and avoidance of hypotension should be performed in cases of intraoperative and postoperative spinal cord injury.
C5 Palsy After Cervical Spine Surgery: A Multicenter Retrospective Review of 59 Cases
Authors: Thompson Sara E. , Smith Zachary A. , Hsu Wellington K. , Nassr Ahmad , Mroz Thomas E. , Fish David E. , Wang Jeffrey C. , Fehlings Michael G. , Tannoury Chadi A. , Tannoury Tony , Tortolani P. Justin , Traynelis Vincent C. , Gokaslan Ziya , Hilibrand Alan S. , Isaacs Robert E. , Mummaneni Praveen V. , Chou Dean , Qureshi Sheeraz A. , Cho Samuel K. , Baird Evan O. , Sasso Rick C. , Arnold Paul M. , Buser Zorica , Bydon Mohamad , Clarke Michelle J. , De Giacomo Anthony F. , Derakhshan Adeeb , Jobse Bruce , Lord Elizabeth L. , Lubelski Daniel , Massicotte Eric M. , Steinmetz Michael P. , Smith Gabriel A. , Pace Jonathan , Corriveau Mark , Lee Sungho , Cha Peter I. , Chatterjee Dhananjay , Gee Erica L. , Mayer Erik N. , McBride Owen J. , Roe Allison K. , Yanez Marisa Y. , Stroh D. Alex , Than Khoi D. , Riew K. Daniel
Published: April 2017

Study Design:

A multicenter, retrospective review of C5 palsy after cervical spine surgery.

Objective:

Postoperative C5 palsy is a known complication of cervical decompressive spinal surgery. The goal of this study was to review the incidence, patient characteristics, and outcome of C5 palsy in patients undergoing cervical spine surgery.

Methods:

We conducted a multicenter, retrospective review of 13 946 patients across 21 centers who received cervical spine surgery (levels C2 to C7) between January 1, 2005, and December 31, 2011, inclusive. P values were calculated using 2-sample t test for continuous variables and χ2 tests or Fisher exact tests for categorical variables.

Results:

Of the 13 946 cases reviewed, 59 patients experienced a postoperative C5 palsy. The incidence rate across the 21 sites ranged from 0% to 2.5%. At most recent follow-up, 32 patients reported complete resolution of symptoms (54.2%), 15 had symptoms resolve with residual effects (25.4%), 10 patients did not recover (17.0%), and 2 were lost to follow-up (3.4%).

Conclusion:

C5 palsy occurred in all surgical approaches and across a variety of diagnoses. The majority of patients had full recovery or recovery with residual effects. This study represents the largest series of North American patients reviewed to date.
Intraoperative Death During Cervical Spinal Surgery: A Retrospective Multicenter Study
Authors: Wang Jeffrey C. , Buser Zorica , Fish David E. , Lord Elizabeth L. , Roe Allison K. , Chatterjee Dhananjay , Gee Erica L. , Mayer Erik N. , Yanez Marisa Y. , McBride Owen J. , Cha Peter I. , Arnold Paul M. , Fehlings Michael G. , Mroz Thomas E. , Riew K. Daniel
Published: April 2017

Study Design:

A retrospective multicenter study.

Objective:

Routine cervical spine surgeries are typically associated with low complication rates, but serious complications can occur. Intraoperative death is a very rare complication and there is no literature on its incidence. The purpose of this study was to determine the intraoperative mortality rates and associated risk factors in patients undergoing cervical spine surgery.

Methods:

Twenty-one surgical centers from the AOSpine North America Clinical Research Network participated in the study. Medical records of patients who received cervical spine surgery from January 1, 2005, to December 31, 2011, were reviewed to identify occurrence of intraoperative death.

Results:

A total of 258 patients across 21 centers met the inclusion criteria. Most of the surgeries were done using the anterior approach (53.9%), followed by posterior (39.1%) and circumferential (7%). Average patient age was 57.1 ± 13.2 years, and there were more male patients (54.7% male and 45.3% female). There was no case of intraoperative death.

Conclusions:

Death during cervical spine surgery is a very rare complication. In our multicenter study, there was a 0% mortality rate. Using an adequate surgical approach for patient diagnosis and comorbidities may be the reason how the occurrence of this catastrophic adverse event was prevented in our patient population.
Consumer Response to Brand Gender Bending: An Integrated Review and Future Research Agenda
Authors: Sandhu Namrata
Published: April 2017

In the postmodern era, many marketers have disturbed the strict gender discipline traditionally associated with gendered brands. Marketers are redoing their gender work by blurring the stark distinction between masculine and feminine brands. New consumption ideologies are developing that transcend the gendered meanings of brands and encourage men and women to infiltrate brands traditionally associated with the opposite gender. “Unisex” is emerging as the byword. This review convenes the phenomenological consumer responses to brand gender bending. It specifically highlights the contrast between the ways in which men and women react to dilution/revision of the gender identity meanings of their brands. This article also underscores the ethnographic, sociological, psychological, and anthropological reasons that justify these reactions. Based on the review and scientific understanding of the long-standing research, this article proposes a conceptual framework that exhibits the determinants that govern consumer responses to brand gender bending. Future researchers may empirically examine the validity of the framework. The practical implications of the article focus on providing suggestions to marketers engaged in the design of cross-gender brand extension strategies. It is believed that this article adds a fresh multidisciplinary perspective to the exiting literature on brand gender bending.
Iron Refractory Iron Deficiency Anemia in Dizygotic Twins Due to a Novel TMPRSS6 Gene Mutation in Addition to Polymorphisms Associated With High Susceptibility to Develop Ferropenic Anemia
Authors: Pinto Joana , Nobre de Jesus Gustavo , Palma Anselmo Mónica , Gonçalves Lúcia , Brás Daniela , Madeira Lopes João , Meneses João , Victorino Rui , Faustino Paula
Published: April 2017

Iron refractory iron deficiency anemia (IRIDA) is an autosomal recessive ferropenic anemia. Its hypochromic microcytic pattern is associated with low transferrin saturation, normal-high ferritin, and inappropriately high hepcidin level. This entity is caused by mutants of the TMPRSS6 gene that encodes the protein matriptase II, which influences hepcidin expression, an iron metabolism counterregulatory protein. We report two 29-year-old dizygotic female twins with ferropenic, hypochromic microcytic anemia with 20 years of evolution, refractory to oral iron therapy. After exclusion of gastrointestinal etiologies, IRIDA diagnosis was suspected and a novel mutation in the TMPRSS6 gene was identified. It was found in intron 11 (c.1396+4 A>T) and seems to affect the gene expression. In addition, 3 polymorphisms already associated with a higher risk of developing iron deficiency anemia were also found (D521D, V736A, and Y739Y). Our case reports an undescribed mutation causing IRIDA and supports the hypothesis that this clinical syndrome may be more common than previously thought and its genetics more heterogeneous than initially described.
Mean grain diameters from thin sections: matching the average to the problem
Authors: Farr Robert S. , Honour Victoria C. , Holness Marian B.
Published: April 2017

It is common practice to estimate a mean diameter for spherical or sub-spherical particles or vesicles in a rock by multiplying the average diameter of the approximately circular cross-sections visible in thin section by a factor of 1.273. This number-weighted average may be dominatedby the hard-to-measure fine tail of the size distribution, and is unlikely to be representative of the average particle diameter of greatest interest for a wide range of geological problems or processes. Average particle size can be quantified in a variety of ways, based on the mass or surfacearea of the particles, and here we provide exact relations of these different average measures to straightforward measurements possible in thin section, including an analysis of how many particles to measure to achieve a desired level of uncertainty. The use of average particle diameter isillustrated firstly with a consideration of the accumulation of olivine phenocrysts on the floor of the 135 m thick picrodolerite/crinanite unit of the Shiant Isles Main Sill. We show that the 45 m thick crystal pile on the sill floor could have formed by crystal settling within about a year.The second geological example is provided by an analysis of the sizes of exsolved Fe-rich droplets during unmixing of a basaltic melt in a suite of experimental charges. We show that the size distribution cannot be explained by sudden nucleation, followed by either Ostwald ripening or Browniancoalescence. We deduce that a continuous process of droplet nucleation during cooling is likely to have occurred.
TAC1 Gene Products Regulate Pituitary Hormone Secretion and Gene Expression in Prepubertal Grass Carp Pituitary Cells
Authors: Hu Guangfu , He Mulan , Ko Wendy K. W. , Wong Anderson O. L.
Published: April 2017

Tachykinin-1 (TAC1) is known to have diverse functions in mammals, but similar information is scarce in fish species. Using grass carp as a model, the pituitary actions, receptor specificity and postreceptor signaling of TAC1 gene products, namely substance P (SP) and neurokinin A (NKA), were examined. TAC1 encoding SP and NKA as well as tachykinin receptors NK1R and NK2R were cloned in the carp pituitary. The newly cloned receptors were shown to be functional with properties similar to mammalian counterparts. In carp pituitary cells, SP and NKA could trigger luteinizing hormone (LH), prolactin (PRL), and somatolactin α (SLα) secretion, with parallel rises in PRL and SLα transcripts. Short-term SP treatment (3 hours) induced LH release, whereas prolonged induction (24 hours) could attenuate LHβ messenger RNA (mRNA) expression. At pituitary cell level, LH, PRL, and SLα regulation by TAC1 gene products were mediated by NK1R, NK2R, and NK3R, respectively. Apparently, SP- and NKA-induced LH and SLα secretion and transcript expression were mediated by adenylyl cyclase/cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP)/protein kinase A (PKA), phospholiphase C (PLC)/inositol 1,4,5-triphosphate/protein kinase C (PKC), and Ca2+/calmodulin (CaM)/CaM-dependent protein kinase-II pathways. The signal transduction for PRL responses was similar, except for the absence of a PKC component. Regarding SP inhibition of LHβ mRNA expression, the cAMP/PKA- and PLC/PKC-dependent (but not Ca2+/CaM-dependent) cascades were involved. These results, as a whole, suggest that TAC1 gene products play a role in LH, PRL, and SLα regulation via overlapping postreceptor signaling coupled to different subtypes of tachykinin receptor expressed in the carp pituitary.
TERT, BRAF, and NRAS in Primary Thyroid Cancer and Metastatic Disease
Authors: Melo Miguel , Gaspar da Rocha Adriana , Batista Rui , Vinagre João , Martins Maria João , Costa Gracinda , Ribeiro Cristina , Carrilho Francisco , Leite Valeriano , Lobo Cláudia , Cameselle-Teijeiro José Manuel , Cavadas Bruno , Pereira Luísa , Sobrinho-Simões Manuel , Soares Paula
Published: April 2017

Context

Little is known about the frequency of key mutations in thyroid cancer metastases and its relationship with the primary tumor genotype.

Objectives

To evaluate the frequency of TERT promoter (TERTp), BRAF, and NRAS mutations in metastatic thyroid carcinomas, analyzing primary thyroid tumors, lymph node metastases (LNMs), and distant metastases.

Design and Patients

Mutation analysis was performed in 437 tissue samples from 204 patients, mainly with papillary thyroid carcinomas (PTCs; n = 180), including 196 LNMs and 56 distant metastases. All the distant metastases included corresponded to radioiodine-refractory metastatic tissue.

Results

We found the following mutation frequency in primary PTCs, LNMs, and distant metastases, respectively: TERTp: 12.9%, 10.5%, and 52.4%; BRAF: 44.6%, 41.7%, and 23.8%; and NRAS: 1.2%, 1.3%, and 14.3%. There was a significant concordance between the primary tumor genotype and the corresponding LNM for all the genes, in particular BRAF-mutated PTC. The overall concordance between primary tumors and respective distant metastases was low. In the group of patients with PTCs, we found a high frequency of TERTp mutations and a low frequency of BRAF mutations in distant metastases, in comparison with the paired primary tumors. When present in distant metastases, BRAF mutations frequently coexisted with TERTp mutations.

Conclusions

When the genotype of primary tumors is compared with the genotype of LNMs, the concordance is high for all the genes studied. On the other hand, distant metastases show an enrichment in TERTp mutations and a decrease in BRAF mutations. TERTp mutations may play a role in distant metastases.
Quantification of Thyroid Cancer and Multinodular Goiter Risk in the DICER1 Syndrome: A Family-Based Cohort Study
Authors: Khan Nicholas E. , Bauer Andrew J. , Schultz Kris Ann P. , Doros Leslie , Decastro Rosamma M. , Ling Alexander , Lodish Maya B. , Harney Laura A. , Kase Ron G. , Carr Ann G. , Rossi Christopher T. , Field Amanda , Harris Anne K. , Williams Gretchen M. , Dehner Louis P. , Messinger Yoav H. , Hill D. Ashley , Stewart Douglas R.
Published: April 2017

Context:

The risk of thyroid cancer and multinodular goiter (MNG) in DICER1 syndrome, a rare tumor-predisposition disorder, is unknown.

Objective:

To quantify the risk of thyroid cancer and MNG in individuals with DICER1 syndrome.

Design:

Family-based cohort study.

Setting:

National Institutes of Health (NIH) Clinical Center (CC).

Participants:

The National Cancer Institute DICER1 syndrome cohort included 145 individuals with a DICER1 germline mutation and 135 family controls from 48 families.

Interventions:

Each individual completed a detailed medical history questionnaire. A subset underwent a 3-day evaluation at the NIH CC.

Main Outcome Measures:

The cumulative incidence of MNG (or thyroidectomy) was quantified using the complement of the Kaplan-Meier product limit estimator. We compared the observed number of thyroid cancers in the NCI DICER1 cohort with matched data from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Program. We performed germline and somatic (thyroid cancer, MNG) DICER1 sequencing.

Results:

By the age of 40 years, the cumulative incidence of MNG or thyroidectomy was 75% in women and 17% in men with DICER1 syndrome compared with 8% of control women (P < 0.001) and 0% of control men (P = 0.0096). During 3937 person-years of observation, individuals with DICER1 syndrome had a 16-fold increased risk of thyroid cancer (95% confidence interval, 4.3 to 41; P < 0.05) compared with the SEER rates. Of 19 MNG nodules and 3 thyroid cancers, 16 (84%) and 3 (100%), respectively, harbored germline and somatic pathogenic DICER1 mutations.

Conclusions:

We propose a model of thyroid carcinogenesis in DICER1 syndrome. Early-onset, familial, or male MNG should prompt consideration of the presence of DICER1 syndrome.