bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Circulating Biomarkers and Resistance to Endocrine Therapy in Metastatic Breast Cancers: Correlative Results from AZD9496 Oral SERD Phase I Trial
Authors: Paoletti Costanza , Schiavon Gaia , Dolce Emily M. , Darga Elizabeth P. , Carr T. Hedley , Geradts Joseph , Hoch Matthias , Klinowska Teresa , Lindemann Justin , Marshall Gayle , Morgan Shethah , Patel Parul , Rowlands Vicky , Sathiyayogan Nitharsan , Aung Kimberly , Hamilton Erika , Patel Manish , Armstrong Anne , Jhaveri Komal , Im Seock-Ah , Iqbal Nadia , Butt Fouziah , Dive Caroline , Harrington Elizabeth A. , Barrett J. Carl , Baird Richard , Hayes Daniel F.
Published: August 2018

Purpose:

Common resistance mechanisms to endocrine therapy (ET) in estrogen receptor (ER)–positive metastatic breast cancers include, among others, ER loss and acquired activating mutations in the ligand-binding domain of the ER gene (ESR1LBDm). ESR1 mutational mediated resistance may be overcome by selective ER degraders (SERD). During the first-in-human study of oral SERD AZD9496, early changes in circulating tumor cells (CTCs) and circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) were explored as potential noninvasive tools, alongside paired tumor biopsies, to assess pharmacodynamics and early efficacy.

Experimental Design:

CTC were enumerated/phenotyped for ER and Ki67 using CellSearch in serial blood draws. ctDNA was assessed for the most common ESR1LBDm by droplet digital PCR (BioRad).

Results:

Before starting AZD9496, 11 of 43 (25%) patients had ≥5 CTC/7.5 mL whole blood (WB), none of whom underwent reduction to <5 CTC/7.5 mL WB on C1D15. Five of 11 patients had baseline CTC-ER+, two of whom had CTC-ER+ reduction. CTC-Ki67 status did not change appreciably. Patients with ≥5 CTC/7.5 mL WB before treatment had worse progression-free survival (PFS) than patients with <5 CTC (P = 0.0003). Fourteen of 45 (31%) patients had ESR1LBDm+ ctDNA at baseline, five of whom had ≥2 unique mutations. Baseline ESR1LBDm status was not prognostic. Patients with persistently elevated CTC and/or ESR1LBDm+ ctDNA at C1D15 had worse PFS than patients who did not (P = 0.0007).

Conclusions:

Elevated CTC at baseline was a strong prognostic factor in this cohort. Early on-treatment changes were observed in CTC-ER+ and ESR1LBDm+ ctDNA, but not in overall CTC number. Integrating multiple biomarkers in prospective trials may improve outcome prediction and ET resistance mechanisms' identification over a single biomarker.
Phage Display-Derived Peptide-Based Dual-Modality Imaging Probe for Bladder Cancer Diagnosis and Resection Postinstillation: A Preclinical Study
Authors: Peng Li , Shang Wenting , Guo Pengyu , He Kunshan , Wang Hongzhi , Han Ziyu , Jiang Hongmei , Tian Jie , Wang Kun , Xu Wanhai
Published: August 2018

Bladder cancer is a common human malignancy. Conventional ultrasound and white-light cystoscopy are often used for bladder cancer diagnosis and resection, but insufficient specificity results in a high bladder cancer recurrence rate. New strategies for the diagnosis and resection of bladder cancer are needed. In this study, we developed a highly specific peptide-based probe for bladder cancer photoacoustic imaging (PAI) diagnosis and near-infrared (NIR)-imaging-guided resection after instillation. A bladder cancer–specific peptide (PLSWT7) was selected by in vivo phage-display technology and labeled with IRDye800CW to synthesize a bladder cancer–specific dual-modality imaging (DMI) probe (PLSWT7-DMI). The feasibility of PLSWT7-DMI–based dual-modality PAI-NIR imaging was assessed in vitro, in mouse models, and ex vivo human bladders. An air-pouch bladder cancer (APBC) model suitable for probe instillation was established to evaluate the probe-based bladder cancer PAI diagnosis and NIR-imaging–guided resection. Human bladders were used to assess whether the PLSWT7-DMI–based DMI strategy is a translatable approach for bladder cancer detection and resection. The probe exhibited excellent selectivity and specificity both in vitro and in vivo. Postinstillation of the probe, tumors <3 mm were detectable by PAI, and NIR-imaging–guided tumor resection decreased the bladder cancer recurrence rate by 90% and increased the survival in the mouse model. Additionally, ex vivo NIR imaging of human bladders indicated that PLSWT7-DMI–based imaging would potentially allow precise resection of bladder cancer in clinical settings. This PLSWT7-DMI–based DMI strategy was a translatable approach for bladder cancer diagnosis and resection and could potentially lower the bladder cancer recurrence rate. Mol Cancer Ther; 17(10); 2100–11. ©2018 AACR.
Suppression of Breast Cancer Stem Cells and Tumor Growth by the RUNX1 Transcription Factor
Authors: Hong Deli , Fritz Andrew J. , Finstad Kristiaan H. , Fitzgerald Mark P. , Weinheimer Adam , Viens Adam L. , Ramsey Jon , Stein Janet L. , Lian Jane B. , Stein Gary S.
Published: August 2018

Breast cancer remains the most common malignant disease in women worldwide. Despite advances in detection and therapies, studies are still needed to understand the mechanisms underlying this cancer. Cancer stem cells (CSC) play an important role in tumor formation, growth, drug resistance, and recurrence. Here, it is demonstrated that the transcription factor RUNX1, well known as essential for hematopoietic differentiation, represses the breast cancer stem cell (BCSC) phenotype and suppresses tumor growth in vivo. The current studies show that BCSCs sorted from premalignant breast cancer cells exhibit decreased RUNX1 levels, whereas ectopic expression of RUNX1 suppresses tumorsphere formation and reduces the BCSC population. RUNX1 ectopic expression in breast cancer cells reduces migration, invasion, and in vivo tumor growth (57%) in mouse mammary fat pad. Mechanistically, RUNX1 functions to suppress breast cancer tumor growth through repression of CSC activity and direct inhibition of ZEB1 expression. Consistent with these cellular and biochemical results, clinical findings using patient specimens reveal that the highest RUNX1 levels occur in normal mammary epithelial cells and that low RUNX1 expression in tumors is associated with poor patient survival.

Implications:

The key finding that RUNX1 represses stemness in several breast cancer cell lines points to the importance of RUNX1 in other solid tumors where RUNX1 may regulate CSC properties.
Maelstrom Directs Myeloid-Derived Suppressor Cells to Promote Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma Progression via Activation of the Akt1/RelA/IL8 Signaling Pathway
Authors: Li Pupu , Chen Xinfeng , Qin Guohui , Yue Dongli , Zhang Zhen , Ping Yu , Wang Dan , Zhao Xuan , Song Mengjia , Zhao Qitai , Li Jieyao , Liu Shasha , Wang Dong , Zhang Chaoqi , Lian Jingyao , Cao Ling , Li Feng , Huang Lan , Wang Liping , Yang Li , Huang Jianmin , Li Hong , Zhang Bin , Zhang Yi
Published: August 2018

Maelstrom (MAEL) is a novel cancer/testis-associated gene, which is not only expressed in the male testicular germ cells among human normal tissues, but is also aberrantly expressed in various cancer tissues. In our study, MAEL was characterized as a tumor-promoting gene and was significantly associated with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) recurrence and unfavorable prognosis. Kaplan–Meier analysis showed that patients with high MAEL expression had a shorter survival time. Functional experiments showed that MAEL promoted tumor cell growth and inhibited cell apoptosis. These results prompted us to investigate the factors affecting the tumorigenicity of MAEL. Further experimentation demonstrated that MAEL enhanced the expression of phosphorylated Akt1, with subsequent phosphorylation of nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) subunit RelA in tumor cells, and chemoattracted myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) by upregulating interleukin-8 (IL8) to accelerate tumor progression in the tumor microenvironment. We also found that TGFβ secreted by MDSCs could upregulate MAEL by inducing Smad2/Smad3 phosphorylation. In summary, this study revealed a mechanism by which MAEL could upregulate IL8 through Akt1/RelA to direct MDSCs homing into the tumor, suggesting that MAEL could be an attractive therapeutic target and a prognostic marker against ESCC. Cancer Immunol Res; 6(10); 1246–59. ©2018 AACR.
Avaliação histórica de taxas de colmatagem e sua relação com a evolução da urbanização em bacias hidrográficas pareadas em Guarapiranga-SP
Authors: Silva Juliana De Paula , Rodrigues Cleide
Published: August 2018

No intuito de aplicar e desenvolver novas metodologias para avaliação quantitativa do impacto da atividade antrópica na superfície terrestre, este estudo analisa a dinâmica da expansão urbana num intervalo temporal de quase cem anos e sua correlação com mudanças e efeitos morfológicos e processuais em duas bacias hidrográficas de tributários do reservatório Guarapiranga, em São Paulo-SP. Enfatizou-se o geoindicador avanço de colmatagem nos remansos dessas duas bacias hidrográficas, que se puderam comparar por apresentar características físicas e morfométricas similares e diferente histórico de ocupação. Tomaram-se como referencial metodológico a geomorfologia antropogênica, a sistematização dos geoindicadores, a geomorfologia urbana histórica e os recursos da cartografia geomorfológica retrospectiva de detalhe (1:5.000), considerando sete diferentes momentos, correspondentes a aerolevantamentos de 1932, 1962, 1972, 1986, 1994, 2000 e 2008. Entre os principais resultados da análise, destacam-se taxas de colmatagem 40% maiores no remanso da bacia urbanizada, além de alta correlação entre as taxas de aumento da superfície urbanizada e as taxas de aumento de área colmatada nos remansos. Assim, o estudo mostra a relação entre fases e padrões construtivos dos processos de urbanização e produção de sedimentos em bacias hidrográficas.
Análise sazonal e anual dos requisitos climáticos do cultivo da nogueira pecã (Carya illinoinensis) no Rio Grande do Sul
Authors: Rovani Franciele Francisca Marmentini , Wollmann Cássio Arthur
Published: August 2018

Este estudo analisa os principais requisitos climáticos do cultivo da nogueira pecã no Rio Grande do Sul. Coletaram-se dados diários de temperatura média do ar, umidade relativa do ar e precipitação pluviométrica entre 1998 e 2013, junto às 23 estações meteorológicas do Inmet. O mapa de horas de frio foi elaborado com base nas informações de Herter et al. (2002). Fizeram-se análises estatísticas, e se espacializaram os dados sazonais e anuais por meio de krigagem e análise de regressão linear múltipla. Como resultado, destaca-se que, exceto pelo número de horas de frio, os demais requisitos são atendidos em todo o estado. Assim, devido às condições favoráveis, o cultivo de nogueira pecã apresenta potencial de desenvolvimento no Rio Grande do Sul.
Território, sertão e ciência: expedições civilizatórias e geografia no Brasil (1900-1930)
Authors: Nogueira Carlo Eugênio
Published: August 2018

Tomando como pano de fundo o processo de formação territorial do país, o objetivo deste artigo é apreciar a relação entre a trajetória de consolidação da geografia como campo disciplinar e as imagens e concepções de base espacial presentes nos debates sobre a questão nacional no pensamento político-social do início do século XX. Especificamente, busca-se problematizar o ambiente intelectual onde se organizaram algumas expedições que perscrutaram o antigo território de Mato Grosso, sobretudo no que tange à conformação das noções de sertão e espaço vazio, associadas recorrentemente ao território mato-grossense, uma vez que, funcionando como ideologia geográfica, tais noções poderiam ser operacionalizadas para justificar e legitimar as políticas territoriais oficiais de colonização e povoamento que o integrariam ao resto do país.
Caracterização da dinâmica dos ventos em Curitiba-PR
Authors: Castelhano Francisco Jablinski , Roseghini Wilson Flavio Feltrim
Published: August 2018

Este trabalho visa caracterizar a dinâmica dos ventos na cidade de Curitiba, capital do estado do Paraná, região Sul do Brasil. Para tanto, colheram-se dados de direção e velocidade dos ventos na estação meteorológica do Simepar no período de 2004 a 2015, totalizando 12 anos de dados em escala horária. A análise se baseou na geração de boxplotsapontando a oscilação da velocidade dos ventos em escala mensal e horária e na criação de gráficos em rosa dos ventos indicando as direções predominantes, novamente em escala horária e mensal. Concluiu-se que os ventos predominantes em Curitiba provêm dos setores leste e nordeste o ano todo e que, ao longo do dia, se alternam.
Terra indígena Foxá “aqui no cedro”: passado e presente Kaingang na sociedade do Vale do Taquari-RS-BR
Authors: Lappe Emelí , Laroque Luís Fernando da Silva
Published: August 2018

Na atualidade, os Kaingang constituem um dos mais numerosos povos indígenas do Brasil meridional, somando aproximadamente 38 mil pessoas, integrando a família linguística Jê Meridional. O objetivo deste estudo é identificar a importância do território para os Kaingang da terra indígena Foxá que se estabeleceram em área urbana da cidade de Lajeado-RS e seu modo próprio de territorialização. O aporte metodológico se debruça em fontes documentais e bibliográficas, que são analisadas a partir de teóricos da territorialidade, cultura e historicidade indígena. Salienta-se ainda que foram feitas visitas à terra indígena Foxá, bem como diálogos com os Kaingang. O estudo apresenta aspectos alusivos dos indígenas e sua relação com o território em espaços urbanos, situação que concorre para conhecermos o jeito de ser Kaingang e os saberes relevantes para a sociedade não indígena.
Além da habitação, muito aquém da apropriação: produção de moradia e representação nos distritos centrais da cidade de São Paulo
Authors: Carvalho André Luiz
Published: August 2018

Analisando o recorte temporal dos últimos 15 anos no que tange à questão da habitação nos distritos centrais da cidade de São Paulo, é necessário referir o papel dos movimentos populares, em especial aqueles que lutam por moradia numa área cujo significado para a presente discussão é fundamental quando se querem destacar os conceitos de propriedade privada, apropriação do espaço e função social da propriedade. As representações do espaço construídas, destruídas e reconstruídas na linha do tempo também são centrais nesta discussão. A contradição mostrada pelos números na produção de moradias nas áreas centrais da cidade de São Paulo nos últimos anos recoloca a questão da inviolabilidade da propriedade privada no Brasil. A luta desses movimentos populares é agora confrontada com as recentes mudanças políticas pelas quais o país vem passando e sugerem que a resistência deve continuar e ser ampliada.
Austrian Law as a Safe Haven for Foreign Spies? An Analysis on the Basis of the Recent Phenomenon of ‘Embassy Espionage’
Authors: Haider Isabel
Published: August 2018

This article aims to assess, from a legal point of view, the repeated allegation of Austria being a safe haven for foreign espionage and interception, based on the assumption that only such activities detrimental to Austria were criminalized under its laws. A comparison with German and Swiss law shows that the requirement of the presence of a detriment to the prosecuting state is rather common than an exemption. In fact, among those three countries only the Austrian and Swiss laws criminalize espionage against foreign states based on their neutrality statuses. In particular, a comparison of the statistics draws further attention to the striking imbalance of convictions for espionage against foreign states between Switzerland and Austria, despite the repeated claim of Austria being a hot spot of international espionage activities. Although no final answer can be reached, the article seeks to give possible responses to this contradiction.
Understanding the Influence of Sexual Risk Taking, Ethnic Identity, and Family and Peer Support on School Importance Among Hispanic Adolescents
Authors: Garcia-Reid Pauline , Lardier David T. , Reid Robert J. , Opara Ijeoma
Published: August 2018

Despite the broader academic gains experienced by Hispanic students, who represent the largest minority group in the United States, they remain the least educated of all major ethnic groups, and our understanding of their academic needs and strengths remains woefully inadequate. Therefore, this study examined the risk (e.g., sexual risk taking) and protective factors (e.g., family support, supportive peer networks, and ethnic identity) associated with school importance among Hispanic teens ( N = 587) residing in a high-risk, resource poor urban community and the ways in which these relationships vary between adolescent males (46.5%) and adolescent females (53.5%). Schools that are able to harness the numerous assets embedded within the Hispanic community are well positioned to create learning environments that are encouraging, are culturally responsive, and can potentially reduce risk involvement that may interfere with valuing the role of school importance. Implications for school-based personnel are discussed.
Social work in the web of social protection: Contexts and alternatives
Authors: Santos Cláudia Priscila C dos , Valduga Tatiane , Ferreira Jorge
Published: August 2018

In the context of research in the field of social work, we have carried out an analysis on the relationship between two social policy measures intended to promote the social well-being of its beneficiaries in Portugal. Through a deductive methodology, the results show the impact of the adopted measures aimed at reducing spending on social policies. Conclusions highlight that social workers can collaborate with alternative social responses in an evidence-based manner, enhancing practice, namely, regarding competencies for the realisation of social diagnosis within the context of peoples’ living conditions in order to promote access of citizens to social support.
Adjusting Bilingual Ratings by Retest Reliability Improves Estimation of Translation Quality
Authors: Wood Dustin , Qiu Lin , Lu Jiahui , Lin Han , Tov William
Published: August 2018

The quality of cross-language scale translations is often explored by having bilingual participants complete the scale in both languages and then correlating their scores. However, low cross-language correlations can be observed due to score unreliability rather than due to poor scale translation. McCrae, Yik, Trapnell, Bond, and Paulhus suggested that a better indicator of translation quality can be formed by dividing the raw cross-language correlation by the same-language retest correlations over a similar measurement interval. Here, we illustrate how this method can be extended to evaluate the translation quality of individual items. We translated the English version of the Inventory of Individual Differences in the Lexicon (IIDL) into Chinese, and within a single survey session participants either completed the instrument either in both languages ( N = 151 bilingual participants) or twice in Chinese ( N = 94) or in English ( N = 82). Finally, additional bilingual participants ( N = 46) rated the perceived translation quality of each item. Variation in the cross-language correlations across items predicted perceived translation quality, however, adjusting for same-language retest correlations resulted in significantly stronger indicators of perceived translation quality. The present study thus indicates the validity of McCrae et al.’s general method, and demonstrates that it can be extended to designs where all participants complete a single test session and can be applied to evaluate the quality of translations of single items.
The Power Threat Meaning Framework: An Alternative Nondiagnostic Conceptual System
Authors: Johnstone Lucy , Boyle Mary
Published: August 2018

This article summarizes the results of a recently published project to develop a conceptual system incorporating social, psychological, and biological factors as an alternative to functional psychiatric diagnosis. The principles underlying the Power Threat Meaning Framework are briefly described, together with its major features and differences from diagnostic approaches. These include the assumptions that what may be called psychiatric symptoms are understandable responses to often very adverse environments and that these responses, both evolved and socially influenced, serve protective functions and demonstrate human capacity for meaning making and agency. We describe how the elements of the Power Threat Meaning Framework interact to restore links between environmental threats and threat responses, and to enable us to outline some probabilistic Provisional General Patterns, grouped by personal, social, and cultural meaning, describing what people do, not the “disorders” they “have.” We conclude by outlining some implications of the Framework for narrative construction and for thinking about distress across cultures.
Spontaneous expulsion of a pulmonary hydatid cyst through bronchial rupture
Authors: Pannu Ashok Kumar , Golla Rithvik
Published: August 2018

The management of a pulmonary echinococcal cyst consists mainly of medical treatment with a scolicidal agent such as albendazole and surgical extirpation. Rarely, a pulmonary cyst may rupture into a bronchus and be spontaneously expelled. This may result in seeding elsewhere in the bronchial tree, or even the alimentary tract, but occasionally, as in our case, may result in a cure.
Neither Licit nor Illicit
Authors: Bullard Ashley R.
Published: August 2018

Cognition enhancers—drugs used to enhance cognition in healthy people—have generated a substantial amount of debate in the academic literature. In these debates, cognition enhancers are considered to promise (or threaten) to drastically change society. Cognition enhancers, as a “new breed of drugs,” are significant as they disrupt the licit–illicit binary maintained in the moral logic of pharmaceutical legitimacy. Cognition enhancers, despite putatively going beyond the legitimate purpose of restoring health, are not considered illicit. Their specificity positions them differently from medical, recreational, and other enhancement or “lifestyle” drugs, such that they elicit different rationales of governance. Utilizing a discursive analysis of the debates concerning cognition enhancers, I demonstrate how cognition enhancers cannot be determined by fixed properties either internal or external to themselves, but are rendered (reasonably) coherent through the problematizations that they produce. Questions of the boundaries of treatment and enhancement, equality and fairness, authenticity and autonomy, are bound up with concerns over the nature of being human. The discourse on cognition enhancers is underpinned by the assumption that these drugs do not repair a disorder but rather enhance an already “healthy” subject to an idealized subject, a construct underpinned by conceptions of a “normal” subject that is White, heteromasculine, and nondisabled. This presumption exists in the hinterlands that constitute these drugs as “cognition enhancers.”
Examining the Impacts of Rater Effects in Performance Assessments
Authors: Wind Stefanie A.
Published: August 2018

Rater effects such as severity, centrality, and misfit are recurrent concerns in performance assessments. Despite their persistence in operational assessment settings and frequent discussion in research, researchers have not fully explored the impacts of rater effects as they relate to estimates of student achievement. The purpose of this study is to explore the impacts of rater severity, centrality, and misfit on student achievement estimates and on classification decisions. The results suggest that these three types of rater effects have substantial impacts on estimates of student achievement and on classification decisions that impact the fairness of rater-mediated assessments. Accordingly, it is essential that researchers and practitioners evaluate ratings across all stages of rater-mediated assessment procedures, including rater training and operational scoring.
Writers and readers in early modern Italianate verse narratives
Authors: Equestri Alice
Published: August 2018

The article considers some examples from the often overlooked genre of Elizabethan verse translations of Italian novellas, concentrating in particular on the poems where the flow of the narration is interrupted by interpolated speeches, namely letters. I consider how epistolary correspondence in these stories often brings about violent outcomes, how the rhetoric of letters can complicate the reader’s interpretation and how the poets describe the material actions of writing and reading. Paratextual epistolary material is also analysed to determine the authors’ purpose.
Double Standards or Social Identity? The Role of Gender and Ethnicity in Ability Perceptions in the Classroom
Authors: Kisfalusi Dorottya , Janky Béla , Takács Károly
Published: August 2018

This study aims at disentangling the effects of status generalization and social identity processes on ability perceptions among early adolescents. Double standards theory predicts that people use different standards for making inferences about others’ abilities based on social status. Social identity processes, however, imply that people evaluate in-group members more positively than out-group members. We analyze cross-sectional dyadic peer nomination data from 21 primary school classes in Hungary ( N = 392, [Formula: see text] = 13 years) with exponential random graph models. Next to ethnic self-identification, we use dyadic ethnic perceptions as a novel way of measuring ethnicity in the analysis. Our findings are mostly in line with social identity theory: Students are more likely to nominate in-group peers as clever compared with classmates from the out-group, in terms of both gender and ethnicity. Nonetheless, ethnic and gender biases in ability perceptions differ in some important ways.
Association between aortic valvular calcification and characteristics of the aortic valve in patients with bicuspid aortic valve stenosis
Authors: Choi Bo Hwa , Ko Sung Min , Shin Je Kyoun , Chee Hyun Keun , Kim Jun Seok , Kim Jayoun
Published: August 2018

Background

Aortic valve calcification quantification using cardiac computed tomography (CCT) is a reliable marker for aortic stenosis (AS) in patients with bicuspid aortic valve (BAV) disease.

Purpose

To determine the association of Agatston aortic valve calcium score (AVCS) with morphological and hemodynamic characteristics of BAV and define cut-off AVCS for optimizing the grade of AS in patients with bicuspid AS.

Material and Methods

This study included 161 BAV patients with AS regardless of aortic regurgitation who underwent transthoracic echocardiography and CCT. BAVs were classified according to orientation of cusps and presence of raphe. Associations of AVCS with characteristics of BAV morphology and functional variables were determined by linear regression analysis. Area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) was used to determine the cut-off AVCS greater than which the diagnosis of severe AS was optimized.

Results

AVCS was significantly different according to sex ( P < 0.001), AS severity ( P < 0.001), type of valvular dysfunction ( P = 0.011), and orientation of cusps ( P = 0.028). Multiple linear regression showed that AVCS was significantly associated with sex (estimate = −0.583, P < 0.001) and AS severity (estimate = 0.817, P < 0.001). AVCS was a predictor for severe AS with AUC of 0.80 in both women ( P = 0.002) and men ( P < 0.001). Its cut-off value was 1423 Agatston unit (AU) in women and 2573 AU in men.

Conclusions

In patients with bicuspid AS, AVCS was significantly higher in men and those with severe AS. However, AVCS was not significantly associated with morphological characteristics of BAV or the type of valvular dysfunction.
Impact of breast cancer screening in a population with high spontaneous coverage with mammography
Authors: Capodaglio Giulia , Zorzi Manuel , Tognazzo Sandro , Greco Alessandra , Michieletto Federica , Fedato Chiara , Montaguti Adriana , Turrin Anna , Ferro Antonio , Cinquetti Sandro , Russo Francesca , Corti Maria Chiara , Rugge Massimo , Fedeli Ugo
Published: August 2018

Objective:

The impact of organized screening programs on breast cancer (BC) mortality is unclear in an era of high spontaneous referral of women to mammography. The aim of this study was to analyze if the introduction of mammographic screening programs reduced BC mortality in the Veneto region, Italy, despite already widespread spontaneous access to mammography.

Methods:

In Veneto, screening was introduced in different years between 1999 and 2009 across 21 local health units (LHUs), inviting asymptomatic women aged 50–69 years to undergo mammography biennially. We compared BC mortality for the 1995–2014 period of women aged 40–49 and 50–74 years who were resident in LHUs where screening programs started in 2003 (early LHUs) with women resident in LHUs where screening was introduced later (late LHUs). Poisson regression models were applied to incidence-based mortality (IBM), including only deaths from BC arising within the screening period.

Results:

In the prescreening period and until 2010, BC mortality rates in early and late LHUs were similar in both age groups. In the last study period (2010–2014), we observed a 10% decrease in overall BC mortality in early compared to late LHU, limited to women aged 50–74 years. IBM was reduced by 8% (95% CI 1%–16%) in the overall study period and by 16% (6%–25%) in 2010–2014.

Conclusions:

In the Veneto region, screening programs were associated with a significant impact on BC-specific mortality; such effect appeared at least 8 years after screening implementation.
Momentous moment: Rediscovering Korean history through digitizing private letters
Authors: Lee Hye-Eun , Kim Hana , Lee Jisu
Published: August 2018

The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the development of a digital archive for the Min Family Correspondence Collection of the University of Toronto Libraries, the first Korean historical manuscript collection in Canada. This strategic digitization project between the University of Toronto Libraries and the National Library of Korea accomplished the following: content analysis and annotation of manuscripts, metadata creation, and enhanced access to the resources. The results from this paper show that one of the crucial factors in successful digitization projects is building bridges between the two organizations as a partnership. Our main aim in this paper was to build a deeper understanding of how to develop a digital archive for Asian historical manuscripts and to explore how to improve the accessibility of rare historical records.
Safety of Freeway Service Patrol Operations: Case Study of Florida Road Rangers
Authors: Carrick Grady , Srinivasan Sivaramakrishnan , Jermprapai Khajonsak
Published: August 2018

Safety service patrols are a proven strategy to mitigate the effects of traffic incidents through quick clearance, incident management, and assistance to other incident responders like police, fire, emergency medical services, and towing. As encountered by other responders, working on or near roadways presents unique hazards for safety service patrol vehicles and operators. Road Rangers are Florida’s branded safety service patrols and, as a mature program with over 100 beats, a suitable case study for safety. This research combined an analysis of Road Ranger traffic crash data for 3 years with a comprehensive safety survey of more than 200 operators to determine safety characteristics related to service patrols. Comparing 200 Road Ranger traffic crashes from 2014 through 2016 with all Florida freeway crashes for the same time period revealed that Road Ranger crashes are five times more likely to involve a parked vehicle, and involve two or more vehicles 95% of the time. Pedestrian involvement, nighttime, shoulder locations, and work zones have higher representation for Road Ranger crashes, but weather is not a factor. Alcohol is three times more likely, drug use five times more likely, and distraction slightly higher when Road Ranger vehicles are struck. A survey of 217 Road Ranger drivers revealed that they are keenly aware of important safety topics like high-visibility safety apparel, non-traffic side vehicle approaches, and the dangers of working where there is limited lateral buffer space. Drivers overwhelmingly believe that they have the training and equipment necessary to do their jobs safely.
Automatic Prediction of Maintenance Intervention Types in Roads using Machine Learning and Historical Records
Authors: Morales F. J. , Reyes A. , Caceres N. , Romero L. , Benitez F. G.
Published: August 2018

A methodology to support and automate the prediction of maintenance intervention alerts in transport linear-asset infrastructures can greatly aid maintenance planning and management. This paper proposes a methodology combining the current and predicted conditions of the assets, and unit components of the infrastructure, with operational and historical maintenance data, to derive information about maintenance interventions needed to avoid later severe degradation. By means of data analytics and machine learning techniques, the proposed methodology generates a prioritized listing, ranked on severity levels, corresponding to the pre-alerts and alerts generated for all assets of the transport infrastructure. The methodology is applied and tested in a real case consisting of a road network with different section classes. The analysis of the results shows that the algorithms and tools developed have good predicting capabilities.
Selecting a Laboratory Loose Mix Aging Protocol for the NCAT Top-Down Cracking Experiment
Authors: Chen Chen , Yin Fan , Turner Pamela , West Randy C. , Tran Nam
Published: August 2018

The objective of this study was to select a laboratory loose mix aging protocol for the NCAT top-down cracking (TDC) experiment. Field aging of asphalt mixtures was characterized using cumulative degree-days (CDD), which was defined as the accumulation of daily high temperature throughout mixtures’ service life. Performance data from over 80 existing pavements showed that TDC typically initiated after a critical field aging condition of approximately 70,000 CDD. A laboratory experiment was conducted to select an aging protocol that was representative of this critical CDD. Materials used in the experiment were from five projects in Michigan, Washington, and Alabama. Four loose mix aging protocols were evaluated in terms of their effects on the rheological and oxidation properties of asphalt binders. Results from the dynamic shear rheometer (DSR), bending beam rheometer (BBR), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) tests showed that the 24-h, 135°C protocol yielded the most significant level of asphalt aging, followed by the 12-h, 135°C protocol, 5-day, 95°C protocol, and 6-h, 135°C protocol, respectively. No significant difference in the oxidation–hardening relationship of asphalt binders was observed for mixes aged at 95°C versus 135°C. Among the four aging protocols, the 5-day, 95°C protocol was most representative of 70,000 CDD of field aging. Additionally, DSR and FT-IR results indicated that loose mix aging of 8-h at 135°C and 5 days at 95°C were likely to achieve an equivalent aging level; thus, the 8-h, 135°C protocol was recommended as an alternative protocol to simulate 70,000 CDD of field aging.
Exploration of Pedestrian Assertiveness and Its Association with Driver Yielding Behavior at Uncontrolled Crosswalks
Authors: Shaon Mohammad Razaur Rahman , Schneider Robert J. , Qin Xiao , He Zhaoxiang , Sanatizadeh Aida , Flanagan Matthew Dreis
Published: August 2018

Improving driver yielding to pedestrians at crosswalks may help prevent pedestrian fatalities, which have increased over the last decade in the United States. The level of assertiveness exhibited by pedestrians when they arrive at a crosswalk may have a significant impact on driver yielding behavior, but assertiveness is not defined clearly or studied thoroughly in the literature. This study defined three levels of pedestrian assertiveness and collected naturalistic video data at two uncontrolled crosswalks in Madison and Milwaukee, Wisconsin to explore the relationship between pedestrian assertiveness and driver yielding behavior. Driver yielding rates were 71% for pedestrians exhibiting Level 1 (high), 30% for Level 2 (moderate), and 3% for Level 3 (low) assertiveness. The pedestrian assertiveness definitions were also used to assess the potential impact of a high-visibility enforcement (HVE) program in the communities where the study took place. Observations taken after the HVE program showed a significantly higher rate of driver yielding to pedestrians exhibiting a moderate level of assertiveness. This result is promising, since a moderate level of assertiveness may be reasonable for pedestrians to adopt, especially if supported by educational messages for pedestrians to clearly indicate their intent to cross within a crosswalk. This exploratory study provides a framework for future analysis and highlights the need for additional research on the relationship between pedestrian assertiveness and driver yielding behavior.
Arthroscopic Superior Capsule Reconstruction Can Eliminate Pseudoparalysis in Patients With Irreparable Rotator Cuff Tears
Authors: Mihata Teruhisa , Lee Thay Q. , Hasegawa Akihiko , Kawakami Takeshi , Fukunishi Kunimoto , Fujisawa Yukitaka , Itami Yasuo , Ohue Mutsumi , Neo Masashi
Published: August 2018

Background:

Patients with pseudoparalysis and irreparable rotator cuff tears have very poor function. The authors developed a superior capsule reconstruction (SCR) technique for irreparable rotator cuff tears that restores shoulder stability and muscle balance, improving shoulder function and relieving pain.

Purpose:

To evaluate whether arthroscopic SCR reversed preoperative pseudoparalysis in patients with irreparable rotator cuff tears.

Study Design:

Case series; Level of evidence, 4.

Methods:

One hundred consecutive patients with irreparable rotator cuff tears underwent arthroscopic SCR with fascia lata autografts; 7 patients with deltoid weakness from cervical or axillary nerve palsy and 5 with severe presurgical shoulder stiffness were excluded. The remaining 88 were allocated to 3 groups according to their preoperative active shoulder elevation: no pseudoparalysis (45 patients; mean age, 66.2 years; mean tear size, 3.5 cm), moderate pseudoparalysis (28 patients, 68.3 years, 3.5 cm), and severe pseudoparalysis (15 patients, 62.3 years, 4.9 cm). Clinical outcome, active shoulder range of motion, acromiohumeral distance, and healing rate were compared between patients with and without pseudoparalysis, as well as before surgery and at final follow-up (35-110 months).

Results:

American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons score, active elevation, active external rotation, and acromiohumeral distance increased significantly after arthroscopic SCR among all patients. Graft healing rates did not differ among the groups ( P = .73): 98% (44 of 45) for no pseudoparalysis, 96% (27 of 28) for moderate pseudoparalysis, and 87% (13 of 15) for severe pseudoparalysis. Pseudoparalysis was reversed in 96% (27 of 28) of patients with preoperative moderate pseudoparalysis and 93% (14 of 15) with preoperative severe pseudoparalysis. Both patients with residual pseudoparalysis postoperatively (1 of 28 with preoperative moderate pseudoparalysis, 1 of 15 with preoperative severe pseudoparalysis) had graft tears.

Conclusion:

Arthroscopic SCR restored superior glenohumeral stability and improved shoulder function among patients with or without pseudoparalysis who had previously irreparable rotator cuff tears. In the absence of postoperative graft tear, arthroscopic SCR reversed preoperative pseudoparalysis. Graft healing rates after arthroscopic SCR did not differ between patients with and without pseudoparalysis.
Contrast-Enhanced Ultrasound Determines Supraspinatus Muscle Atrophy After Cuff Repair and Correlates to Functional Shoulder Outcome
Authors: Fischer Christian , Gross Sascha , Zeifang Felix , Schmidmaier Gerhard , Weber Marc-André , Kunz Pierre
Published: August 2018

Background:

Muscle degeneration as a consequence of rotator cuff tears is mainly assessed by magnetic resonance imaging. Contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) is a new functional imaging method to assess microvascular perfusion as a fundamental parameter of muscle tissue vitality. In this cross-sectional study, the authors evaluated supraspinatus muscle perfusion after cuff repair and analyzed its association with functional shoulder outcome and the grade of echogenicity in B-mode ultrasound indicating fatty infiltration.

Hypothesis:

The authors expected reduced microperfusion of the operated versus the contralateral supraspinatus muscle and a correlation of the muscular microperfusion with functional shoulder outcome.

Study Design:

Cross-sectional study; Level of evidence, 3.

Methods:

Patients who received unilateral repair of the supraspinatus tendon between 2009 and 2014 were invited for a single follow-up examination. Functional scores were assessed, including the Constant-Murley score and American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons score. CEUS examination was performed bilaterally in an oblique sagittal plane of the supraspinatus fossa. Perfusion was quantified by the parameters wash-in perfusion index (WiPI) and peak enhancement via VueBox quantification software. The results of the Constant-Murley score, American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons score, and perfusion parameters were referenced to the contralateral shoulder. Echogenicity of the supraspinatus muscle was classified with a 3-point scale as compared with the trapezius muscle.

Results:

Sixty-seven patients were available, with a mean follow-up of 38.0 ± 18.5 months. Functional assessment showed impaired shoulder function on the operated shoulder as compared with the contralateral side (relative Constant Score [CS], 80% ± 19%). CEUS revealed diminished perfusion on the operated shoulder (WiPI, 55.1% ± 40.2%, P < .001). A strong correlation could be demonstrated between the perfusion deficit and functional impairment (relative WiPI and CS: rs= .644, P < .001). Higher grade of echogenicity in B-mode ultrasound was associated with reduced perfusion.

Conclusion:

CEUS could visualize impaired supraspinatus muscle perfusion after rotator cuff repair as compared with the contralateral, healthy shoulder. With its ability to quantify microvascular perfusion as a surrogate parameter for muscle vitality and function, CEUS may serve as a quantitative method to evaluate rotator cuff muscles.
Considering concessions: A survey experiment on the Colombian peace process
Authors: Matanock Aila M , Garbiras-Díaz Natalia
Published: August 2018

Designing peace agreements that can be signed and sustained can be difficult in civil conflict. Many recent cases of successful settlements include electoral provisions, often for rebel groups to participate as political parties. Engaging the electoral process, however, can also open the peace process to the population at large, potentially derailing a settlement or some of its provisions, perhaps especially those related to politics. In this paper, we examine popular support for peace processes, specific electoral provisions, and potential concessions that provide former rebels with protections, legitimacy, and power. Using a survey experiment in Colombia, we find that the peace process overall is more popular than its electoral provisions, and that rebel endorsement of the provisions further diminishes support. These results contribute to an explanation of why the 2016 Colombian plebiscite on the peace agreement failed and to an understanding of how design matters to agreement effectiveness.
Engineering Livable Streets: A Thematic Review of Advancements in Urban Street Design
Authors: Dumbaugh Eric , King Michael
Published: August 2018

Planners and urban designers have long sought to encourage the creation of livable streets. Despite these professions’ best efforts, the creation of such streets has proven difficult to implement due to the design practices employed by traffic engineers. This article details how engineering practices modify the design of urban streets and provides a thematic review of recent innovations to engineering guidance. It concludes by presenting four general strategies for ensuring that walkable streets emerge from the engineering phases of the project planning and design process.
Safeguarding Children’s Well-Being: Voices From Abused Mothers Navigating Their Relationships and the Civil Courts
Authors: Miller Susan L. , Manzer Jamie L.
Published: August 2018

Battered mothers often go to great lengths to protect their children from abuse. Most of these efforts play out in private settings such as the home. After their relationships end, women’s actions shift to the public sphere for judgment by the courts. Abusers’ strategies utilize the courts as another tool with which to call into question and challenge their former partners’ parenting. Images of “good mothers” who behave passively are favored by officials who often have incomplete understandings of the dynamics of intimate partner violence and abuse. Existing studies about justice-involved mothers insufficiently portray women’s experiences managing both continued abuse from past partners as well as discriminating treatment by the courts. Semistructured interviews with 25 women in the United States who have terminated their abusive relationships reveal strategies of negotiation and resistance used to protect their children both during and after their relationships; the women also recount instances of paternalism and naïveté present in civil and criminal courts. While their male abusers seemed to receive leniency from court officials, despite, in some cases, violating judges’ direct orders, the women’s efforts were sometimes interpreted as recalcitrance and disobedience when they challenged unfair labels, visitation, and custody decisions. This qualitative study contextualizes women’s efforts and actions taken to safeguard their children during and after their relationships to highlight women’s experiences the courts overlook and misconstrue as well as what happens when women engage with the courts. Policy suggestions include ways to prevent the continued victimization of battered women by the courts, to challenge the pejorative assessment of mother’s protective behaviors, and to illuminate court officials’ malfeasance and toleration of fathers’ tactics.
Volunteers as Boundary Workers: Negotiating Tensions Between Volunteerism and Professionalism in Nonprofit Organizations
Authors: McAllum Kirstie
Published: August 2018

This article employs a boundary work framework to analyze how volunteers from two nonprofit human services organizations navigated the tensions between volunteerism and professionalism. Based on interview data and analysis of organizational documents, the study found that volunteers at the first organization, fundraisers for child health promotion and parent education, dichotomized volunteerism and professionalism as incompatible social systems with divergent objectives, practices, and tools. Volunteers at the second organization, which provides emergency ambulance services, engaged in constant boundary crossing, oscillating between a volunteer and professional approach to tasks and relationships depending on the context. In both cases, paid staff and members of the public affected participants’ ability to engage in boundary work. The study offers insights for nonprofit organizations wishing to professionalize their volunteer workforce by specifying how volunteer job types, organizational structure, and interactional partners’ feedback impact volunteers’ ability to engage in boundary crossing, passing, and boundary spanning.