bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Recording sympathetic nerve activity in conscious humans and other mammals: guidelines and the road to standardization
Authors: Hart Emma C. , Head Geoffrey A. , Carter Jason R. , Wallin B. Gunnar , May Clive N. , Hamza Shereen M. , Hall John E. , Charkoudian Nisha , Osborn John W.
Published: March 2017

Over the past several decades, studies of the sympathetic nervous system in humans, sheep, rabbits, rats, and mice have substantially increased mechanistic understanding of cardiovascular function and dysfunction. Recently, interest in sympathetic neural mechanisms contributing to blood pressure control has grown, in part because of the development of devices or surgical procedures that treat hypertension by manipulating sympathetic outflow. Studies in animal models have provided important insights into physiological and pathophysiological mechanisms that are not accessible in human studies. Across species and among laboratories, various approaches have been developed to record, quantify, analyze, and interpret sympathetic nerve activity (SNA). In general, SNA demonstrates “bursting” behavior, where groups of action potentials are synchronized and linked to the cardiac cycle via the arterial baroreflex. In humans, it is common to quantify SNA as bursts per minute or bursts per 100 heart beats. This type of quantification can be done in other species but is only commonly reported in sheep, which have heart rates similar to humans. In rabbits, rats, and mice, SNA is often recorded relative to a maximal level elicited in the laboratory to control for differences in electrode position among animals or on different study days. SNA in humans can also be presented as total activity, where normalization to the largest burst is a common approach. The goal of the present paper is to put together a summary of “best practices” in several of the most common experimental models and to discuss opportunities and challenges relative to the optimal measurement of SNA across species.

Listen to this article's corresponding podcast at https://ajpheart.podbean.com/e/guidelines-for-measuring-sympathetic-nerve-activity/
Apoptotic cell death in rat lung following mustard gas inhalation
Authors: Andres Devon K. , Keyser Brian M. , Melber Ashley A. , Benton Betty J. , Hamilton Tracey A. , Kniffin Denise M. , Martens Margaret E. , Ray Radharaman
Published: March 2017

To investigate apoptosis as a mechanism of sulfur mustard (SM) inhalation injury in animals, we studied different caspases (caspase-8, -9, -3, and -6) in the lungs from a ventilated rat SM aerosol inhalation model. SM activated all four caspases in cells obtained from bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) as early as 6 h after exposure. Caspase-8, which is known to initiate the extrinsic Fas-mediated pathway of apoptosis, was increased fivefold between 6 and 24 h, decreasing to the unexposed-control level at 48 h. The initiator, caspase-9, in the intrinsic mitochondrial pathway of apoptosis as well as the executioner caspases, caspase-3 and -6, all peaked ( P < 0.01) at 24 h; caspase-3 and -6 remained elevated, but caspase-9 decreased to unexposed-control level at 48 h. To study further the Fas pathway, we examined soluble as well as membrane-bound Fas ligand (sFas-L and mFas-L, respectively) and Fas receptor (Fas-R) in both BALF cells and BALF. At 24 h after SM exposure, sFas-L increased significantly in both BALF cells ( P < 0.01) and BALF ( P < 0.05). However, mFas-L increased only in BALF cells between 24 and 48 h ( P < 0.1 and P < 0.001, respectively). Fas-R increased only in BALF cells by 6 h ( P < 0.01) after SM exposure. Apoptosis in SM-inhaled rat lung specimens was also confirmed by both immunohistochemical staining using cleaved caspase-3 and -9 antibodies and terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) staining as early as 6 h in the proximal trachea and bronchi, but not before 48 h in distal airways. These findings suggest pathogenic mechanisms at the cellular and molecular levels and logical therapeutic target(s) for SM inhalation injury in animals.
RORα-dependent type 2 innate lymphoid cells are required and sufficient for mucous metaplasia in immature mice
Authors: Rajput Charu , Cui Tracy , Han Mingyuan , Lei Jing , Hinde Joanna L. , Wu Qian , Bentley J. Kelley , Hershenson Marc B.
Published: March 2017

Early-life wheezing-associated respiratory tract infection by rhinovirus (RV) is considered a risk factor for asthma development. We have shown that RV infection of 6-day-old BALB/c mice, but not mature mice, induces an asthmalike phenotype that is associated with an increase in the population of type 2 innate lymphoid cells (ILC2s) and dependent on IL-13 and IL-25. We hypothesize that ILC2s are required and sufficient for development of the asthmalike phenotype in immature mice. Mice were infected with RV1B on day 6 of life and treated with vehicle or a chemical inhibitor of retinoic acid receptor-related orphan receptor-α (RORα), SR3335 (15 mg·kg−1·day−1ip for 7 days). We also infected Rorasg/sgmice without functional ILC2s. ILC2s were identified as negative for lineage markers and positive for cluster of differentiation 25 (CD25)/IL-2Rα and CD127/IL-7Rα. Effects of SR3335 on proliferation and function of cultured ILC2s were determined. Finally, sorted ILC2s were transferred into naïve mice, and lungs were harvested 14 days later for assessment of gene expression and histology. SR3335 decreased the number of RV-induced lung lineage-negative, CD25+, CD127+ILC2s in immature mice. SR3335 also attenuated lung mRNA expression of IL-13, Muc5ac, and Gob5 as well as mucous metaplasia. We also found reduced expansion of ILC2s in RV-infected Rorasg/sgmice. SR3335 also blocked IL-25 and IL-33-induced ILC2 proliferation and IL-13 production ex vivo. Finally, adoptive transfer of ILC2s led to development of asthmalike phenotype in immature and adult mice. RORα-dependent ILC2s are required and sufficient for type 2 cytokine expression and mucous metaplasia in immature mice.
Bilateral Pulmonary Embolism after a Short-Haul Flight in a Man with Multiple Risk Factors including Sickle Cell Trait
Authors: Abdool Kamille , Ramcharan Kanterpersad , Reyes Antonio J. , Lutchman Nadiene , Alexander Adrian
Published: March 2017

We report a case of pulmonary embolism (PE) in an Afro-Caribbean man following a short commercial flight of less than 5,000 kilometers (Km) in economy class with a 1-month interval between journeys. He had an elevated body mass index (BMI) and sickle cell trait (SCT) with hyperhomocysteinemia. No other preexisting source of venous thrombosis was found. We posit that venous thromboembolism (VTE) and/or PE may have been a complication of SCT in an individual with other multiple risk factors. We discuss the possible interaction of these risk factors for VTE and/or PE and the implications for travelers at risk. The need for a PE risk score and guidelines for the prophylaxis of thromboembolism among travelers exists.
Arterioureteral Fistula: Treatment of a Hemorrhagic Shock with Massive Hematuria by Placing a Balloon Catheter
Authors: Merzeau Nicolas , Riquet Hervé , Nicolacopoulos Ioannis , Alame Abbas , Larré Stéphane
Published: March 2017

Arterioureteral fistulas (AUF) are serious diseases with increasing incidence. This case report relates the management of AUF in a patient with a history of abdominal oncological surgery, pelvic radiotherapy, and a double J stent in place. The fistula was discovered during a hemorrhagic shock with massive hematuria. The bleeding was controlled by a balloon catheter which led to endovascular treatment consisting of a covered stent.
Influence of Hospital Volume Effects and Minimum Caseload Requirements on Quality of Care in Pancreatic Surgery in Germany
Authors: Krautz Christian , Denz Axel , Weber Georg F. , Grützmann Robert
Published: March 2017

Introduction: Numerous international studies have identified hospital volume as significant independent variable of death following pancreatic surgery. Most of these studies were limited to regions of countries or portions of a national population and did not include data on volume-outcome effects in Germany. Methods: The Medline database was systematically searched to identify studies that analyzed volume-outcome relationships and effects of minimum caseload requirements on outcomes of pancreatic surgery in Germany. Results: Recent observational studies utilizing German hospital discharge data confirmed that patients undergoing pancreatic surgery in Germany also have better outcomes when treated in facilities with high annual caseloads. Besides a decreased risk of in-hospital mortality, there is also a reduced risk of 1-year mortality in high-volume hospitals. In addition, there is evidence that adherence to already existing minimum caseload requirements reduces morbidity and mortality of pancreatic surgery in Germany. As a result of an insufficient centralization in the recent past, however, a large proportion of hospitals that perform pancreatic surgery still do not meet minimum caseload requirements. Conclusions: Specific measures (i.e. sanctions for failure to achieve minimum volumes) that initiate a sufficient centralization process without threatening patient access to surgical care are needed.
Resistenzentwicklung und prädiktive Marker beim metastasierten Prostatakarzinom
Authors: Bernemann Christof , Bögemann Martin , Steinestel Julie , Schrader Andreas Jan
Published: March 2017

Anders als bei vielen anderen Krebserkrankungen gab es beim Prostatakarzinom lange Zeit keinen Ansatz für eine individualisierte Therapie. Seit der Zulassung von mehreren modernen Wirkstoffen für die Therapie des fortgeschrittenen Stadiums ändert sich dies allmählich. Zunächst galt die Androgenrezeptor-Splice-Variante AR-V7 als vielversprechender Biomarker für die Therapiesteuerung, woran sich zunehmend Zweifel mehren. Inzwischen gibt es jedoch eine Reihe von weiteren neuen, noch nicht zugelassenen und nicht (nur) auf den Androgenrezeptor fokussierenden Therapieansätzen, die auch beim fortgeschrittenen Prostatakarzinom eine personalisierte Medizin wahrscheinlicher machen.
Pro-Inflammatory Cytokine TNF-α Attenuates BMP9-Induced Osteo/ Odontoblastic Differentiation of the Stem Cells of Dental Apical Papilla (SCAPs)
Authors: Wang Feilong , Jiang Ying , Huang Xia , Liu Qiao , Zhang Yan , Luo Wenping , Zhang Fugui , Zhou Pengfei , Lin Juhong , Zhang Hongmei
Published: March 2017

Background/Aims: Periapical periodontitis is a common oral disease caused by bacterial invasion of the tooth pulp, which usually leads to local release of pro-inflammatory cytokines and osteolytic lesion. This study is intended to examine the effect of TNF-α on BMP9-induced osteogenic differentiation of the stem cells of dental apical papilla (SCAPs). Methods: Rat model of periapical periodontitis was established. TNF-α expression was assessed. Osteogenic markers and ectopic bone formation in iSCAPs were analyzed upon BMP9 and TNF-α treatment. Results: Periapical periodontitis was successfully established in rat immature permanent teeth with periapical lesions, in which TNF-α was shown to release during the inflammatory phase. BMP9-induced alkaline phosphatase activity, the expression of osteocalcin and osteopontin, and matrix mineralization in iSCAPs were inhibited by TNF-α in a dose-dependent fashion, although increased AdBMP9 partially overcame TNF-α inhibition. Furthermore, high concentration of TNF-α effectively inhibited BMP9-induced ectopic bone formation in vivo. Conclusion: TNF-α plays an important role in periapical bone defect during the inflammatory phase and inhibits BMP9-induced osteoblastic differentiation of iSCAPs, which can be partially reversed by high levels of BMP9. Therefore, BMP9 may be further explored as a potent osteogenic factor to improve osteo/odontogenic differentiation in tooth regeneration in chronic inflammation conditions.
Bone Marrow–Derived Mononuclear Cell Therapy Accelerates Renal Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury Recovery by Modulating Inflammatory, Antioxidant and Apoptotic Related Molecules
Authors: Ornellas Felipe Mateus , Ornellas Débora Santos , Martini Sabrina Vargas , Castiglione Raquel Carvalho , Ventura Grasiella Maria , Rocco Patrícia R. , Gutfilen Bianca , de Souza Sergio A. , Takiya Christina Maeda , Morales Marcelo Marcos
Published: March 2017

Background/Aims: We investigated the regenerative capacity of intravenous administration of bone marrow–derived mononuclear cells (BMMCs) in a rat model of bilateral renal ischemia/reperfusion (IR) injury and the involvement of inflammatory anti-inflammatory and other biological markers in this process. Methods: Rats were subjected to 1h bilateral renal pedicle clamping. BMMCs were injected i.v 1h after reperfusion and tracked by 99mTc and GFP+ BMMCs. Twenty-four hours after reperfusion, renal function and histological changes were evaluated. The mRNA (real time PCR) and protein (ELISA and immuno-staining) expression of biological markers were analyzed. Results: Renal function and structure improved after infusion of BMMCs in the IR group (IR-C). Labeled BMMCs were found in the kidneys after therapy. The expression of inflammatory and biological markers (TLR-2, TRL-4, RAGE, IL-17, HMGB-1, KIM-1) were reduced and the expression of anti-inflammatory and antioxidant markers (IL-10, Nrf2, and HO-1) were increased in IR-C animals compared with IR untreated animals (IR-S). The apoptotic index diminished and the proliferation index increased in IR-C compared with IR-S. Conclusion: The results contribute to our understanding of the role of different biological players in morphofunctional renal improvement and cytoprotection in a post-ischemic reperfusion kidney injury model subjected to cellular therapy.
Chronic Stress Contributes to Cognitive Dysfunction and Hippocampal Metabolic Abnormalities in APP/PS1 Mice
Authors: Han Bing , Wang Jin-Hua , Geng Yuan , Shen Li , Wang Hua-Long , Wang Yan-Yong , Wang Ming-Wei
Published: March 2017

Background/Aims: Stress response is determined by the brain, and the brain is a sensitive target for stress. Our previous experiments have confirmed that once the stress response is beyond the tolerable limit of the brain, particularly that of the hippocampus, it will have deleterious effects on hippocampal structure and function; however, the metabolic mechanisms for this are not well understood. Methods: Here, we used morris water maze, elisa and gas chromatography-time of flight/mass spectrometry to observe the changes in cognition, neuropathology and metabolomics in the hippocampus of APP/PS1 mice and wild-type (C57) mice caused by chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS), we also further explored the correlation between cognition and metabolomics. Results: We found that 4 weeks of CUMS aggravated cognitive impairment and increased amyloid-β deposition in APP/PS1 mice, but did not affect C57 mice. Under non-stress conditions, compared with C57 mice, there were 8 different metabolites in APP/PS1 mice. However, following CUMS, 3 different metabolites were changed compared with untreated C57 mice. Compared to APP/PS1 mice, there were 7 different metabolites in APP/PS1+CUMS mice. Among these alterations, 3-hydroxybutyric acid, valine, serine, beta-alanine and o-phosphorylethanolamine, which are involved in sphingolipid metabolism, synthesis and degradation of ketone bodies, and amino acid metabolism. Conclusion: The results indicate that APP/PS1 mice are more vulnerable to stress than C57 mice, and the metabolic mechanisms of stress-related cognitive impairment in APP/PS1 mice are related to multiple pathways and networks, including sphingolipid metabolism, synthesis and degradation of ketone bodies, and amino acid metabolism.
Pharmacogenetic Associations of β1-Adrenergic Receptor Polymorphisms With Cardiovascular Outcomes in the SPS3 Trial (Secondary Prevention of Small Subcortical Strokes)
Authors: Magvanjav Oyunbileg , McDonough Caitrin W. , Gong Yan , McClure Leslie A. , Talbert Robert L. , Horenstein Richard B. , Shuldiner Alan R. , Benavente Oscar R. , Mitchell Braxton D. , Johnson Julie A.
Published: March 2017

Background and Purpose—

Functional polymorphisms (Ser49Gly and Arg389Gly) in
ADRB1
have been associated with cardiovascular and β-blocker response outcomes. Herein we examined associations of these polymorphisms with major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE), with and without stratification by β-blocker treatment in patients with a history of stroke.

Methods—

Nine hundred and twenty-six participants of the SPS3 trial’s (Secondary Prevention of Small Subcortical Strokes) genetic substudy with hypertension were included. MACE included stroke, myocardial infarction, and all-cause death. Kaplan–Meier and multivariable Cox regression analyses were used. Because the primary component of MACE was ischemic stroke, we tested the association of Ser49Gly with ischemic stroke among 41 475 individuals of European and African ancestry in the NINDS (National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke) SiGN (Stroke Genetics Network).

Results—

MACE was higher in carriers of the Gly49 allele than in those with the Ser49Ser genotype (10.5% versus 5.4%, log-rank
P
=0.005). Gly49 carrier status was associated with MACE (hazard ratio, 1.62; 95% confidence interval, 1.00–2.68) and ischemic stroke (hazard ratio, 1.81; 95% confidence interval, 1.01–3.23) in SPS3 and with small artery ischemic stroke (odds ratio, 1.14; 95% confidence interval, 1.03–1.26) in SiGN. In SPS3, β-blocker-treated Gly49 carriers had increased MACE versus non–β-blocker-treated individuals and noncarriers (hazard ratio, 2.03; 95% confidence interval, 1.20–3.45). No associations were observed with the Arg389Gly polymorphism.

Conclusion—

Among individuals with previous small artery ischemic stroke, the
ADRB1
Gly49 polymorphism was associated with MACE, particularly small artery ischemic stroke, a risk that may be increased among β-blocker-treated individuals. Further research is needed to define β-blocker benefit among ischemic stroke patients by
ADRB1
genotype.

Clinical Trial Registration—

URL:
http://www.clinicaltrials.gov
. Unique identifier: NCT00059306.
Aristotle on the Logos of the Craftsman
Authors: Johansen Thomas Kjeller
Published: March 2017

Aristotle thinks that an account, alogos, of some sort is characteristic of craft,technē. Some scholars think that thelogoselement oftechnēis tagged onto experience as a theoretical element not directly engaged in successful production: I argue instead that thelogosgrounds the productive ability of craft, and also that is practically orientated in a way that distinguishes it from thelogosof theoretical science. Understanding thelogosof craft thus helps us explain how the craftsman differs both from the merely experienced practitioner and from the theoretical scientist.
Transnationalism in Missionary Medicine
Authors: Gewurtz Margo S.
Published: March 2017

Kala-azar is a parasitic disease that was endemic in India, parts of Africa and China. During the first half of the twentieth century, developing means of treatment and identification of the host and transmission vectors for this deadly disease would be the subject of transnational research and controversy. In the formative period for this research, two Canadian Medical missionaries, Drs. Jean Dow and Ernest Struthers, pioneered work on Kala-azar in the North Henan Mission. The great international prestige of the London School of Tropical Medicine and the Indian Medical Service would stand against recognition of the clinical discoveries of missionary doctors in remote North Henan. It was only after Struthers forged personal relations with Dr. Lionel. E. Napier and his colleagues at the Calcutta School of Tropical Medicine that there was a meeting of minds to promote the hypothesis that the sand fly was the transmission vector.
Counting Again
Authors: Sanson David , Caplan Ben , Muller Cathleen
Published: March 2017

The authors consider a recurring objection to fictional realism, the view that (broadly speaking) fictional characters are objects. The authors call this the counting objection. Russell presses a version of the objection against Meinong’s view. Everett presses a version of the objection against contemporary fictional realist views, as (in effect) do Nolan and Sandgren. As the authors see it, the objection assumes that the fictional realist must provide criteria of identity for fictional characters, so its force depends on the plausibility of that assumption. Rather than coming up with such criteria, a fictional realist might argue that the demand is misplaced.
“It was Things Made Me Weep”
Authors: Smith Russell
Published: March 2017

The narrator’s sudden access of inexplicable weeping in First Love can be read as a parodic rewriting of the famous “Les intermittences du cœur” section of Marcel Proust’s À la recherche du temps perdu, which Beckett called “perhaps the greatest passage that Proust ever wrote.” Beckett’s restaging of involuntary memory emphatically rejects its potential as an entry point to “time regained”; instead, for Beckett’s narrator, neither the stimulus for the emotion nor the involuntary memory associated with it can be known, because they belong, not to the world of Beckett’s protagonist, but to the alien intertextual world of Proust’s novel.
Impossibilities of Screening the Vanishing Minds and Selves in Samuel Beckett’s The Unnamable
Authors: Datta Asijit
Published: March 2017

In this article, I explore the Beckettian ‘arrival’ at being through writing, which is also a process of continuous self-emptying. This non-art and implosion within language position subjectivity in the zones of loss and invisibility. The paper further seeks to identify the cinematic impossibility of filming The Unnamable, since all attempts of displaying an id-entity (Basil/Mahood), a worm, or a thing, would culminate in associating visual borderlines against the effulgence of the ‘imperceptible’ narrator. The essay locates the ‘unnamable’s’ failures to return to the primordial site of the undifferentiated, and the independent narration of the voice of its indefinite histories and transcendences from spaces beyond symbolization. The moment one strives to ‘frame’ the void from which the speaker articulates and to which it returns, or locate the subject without subjectivity, the multiplicity and effluence of being get erased.
Diaporthe species occurring on Senna bicapsularis in southern China, with descriptions of two new species
Authors: YANG QIN , FAN XIN-LEI , DU ZHUO , TIAN CHENG-MING
Published: March 2017

Diaporthe species include important plant pathogenic fungi with extensive host ranges and geographic distributions. In the present study, two new species of Diaporthe causing diebacks from southern China are described and illustrated. Isolates were characterized morphologically and assigned to species based on multigene sequence analyses. Phylogenetic analysis based on the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region, calmodulin (CAL), histone H3 (HIS), translation elongation factor 1-alpha (TEF1-α) and beta-tubulin (TUB) region grouped isolates into two distinct lineages. Within each linage these species appear to be unique and are described as D. sennae sp. nov and D. sennicola sp. nov, and their relationships with other species in the genus are indicated.
Typification of the Mediterranean endemic conifer Juniperus turbinata (Cupressaceae)
Authors: FERRER-GALLEGO PEDRO PABLO , NAZZARO ROBERTO , FERRANDO INMACULADA , LAGUNA EMILIO
Published: March 2017

The genus Juniperus Linnaeus (1753: 1038) (Cupressaceae Gray, nom. cons.) is a major component of arid and semi-arid tree/shrub ecosystems throughout the Northern Hemisphere (Thorne 1972, Adams 2004, 2008, 2014, Farjon 2005). The genus is monophyletic (Adams 2004, 2008, 2014, Little 2006, Mao et al. 2010), and three monophyletic sections are currently recognized: J. sect. Caryocedrus Endlicher (1847: 2), with one species in the Mediterranean; J. sect. Juniperus, with nine species in East Asia and the Mediterranean plus the circumboreal J. communis Linnaeus (1753: 1040); and J. sect. Sabina Spach (1841: 291), with 56 species distributed in southwestern North America, Asia and the Mediterranean region, with outliers in Africa and the Canary Islands.
Application of DRIFTS,13C NMR, and py-MBMS to Characterize the Effects of Soil Science Oxidation Assays on Soil Organic Matter Composition in a Mollic Xerofluvent
Authors: Margenot Andrew J. , Calderón Francisco J. , Magrini Kimberly A. , Evans Robert J.
Published: March 2017

Chemical oxidations are routinely employed in soil science to study soil organic matter (SOM), and their interpretation could be improved by characterizing oxidation effects on SOM composition with spectroscopy. We investigated the effects of routinely employed oxidants on SOM composition in a Mollic Xerofluvent representative of intensively managed agricultural soils in the California Central Valley. Soil samples were subjected to oxidation by potassium permanganate (KMnO4), sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl), and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). Additionally, non-oxidized and oxidized soils were treated with hydrofluoric acid (HF) to evaluate reduction of the mineral component to improve spectroscopy of oxidation effects. Oxidized non-HF and HF-treated soils were characterized by diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy (DRIFTS),13C cross polarization magic angle spinning (CP-MAS) nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, and pyrolysis molecular beam mass spectrometry (py-MBMS), and for particle size distribution (PSD) using laser diffractometry (LD). Across the range of soil organic carbon (OC) removed by oxidations (14–72%), aliphatic C–H stretch at 3000–2800 cm−1(DRIFTS) decreased with OC removal, and this trend was enhanced by HF treatment due to significant demineralization in this soil (70%). Analysis by NMR spectroscopy was feasible only after HF treatment, and did not reveal trends between OC removal and C functional groups. Pyrolysis-MBMS did not detect differences among oxidations, even after HF treatment of soils. Hydrofluoric acid entailed OC loss (13–39%), and for H2O2oxidized soils increased C:N and substantially decreased mean particle size. This study demonstrates the feasibility of using HF to improve characterizations of SOM composition following oxidations as practiced in soil science, in particular for DRIFTS. Since OC removal by oxidants, mineral removal by HF, and the interaction of oxidants and HF observed for this soil may differ for soils with different mineralogies, future work should examine additional soil and land use types to optimize characterizations of oxidation effects on SOM composition.
Machine-Learning Algorithms to Code Public Health Spending Accounts
Authors: Brady Eoghan S. , Leider Jonathon P. , Resnick Beth A. , Alfonso Y. Natalia , Bishai David
Published: March 2017

Objectives:

Government public health expenditure data sets require time- and labor-intensive manipulation to summarize results that public health policy makers can use. Our objective was to compare the performances of machine-learning algorithms with manual classification of public health expenditures to determine if machines could provide a faster, cheaper alternative to manual classification.

Methods:

We used machine-learning algorithms to replicate the process of manually classifying state public health expenditures, using the standardized public health spending categories from the Foundational Public Health Services model and a large data set from the US Census Bureau. We obtained a data set of 1.9 million individual expenditure items from 2000 to 2013. We collapsed these data into 147 280 summary expenditure records, and we followed a standardized method of manually classifying each expenditure record as public health, maybe public health, or not public health. We then trained 9 machine-learning algorithms to replicate the manual process. We calculated recall, precision, and coverage rates to measure the performance of individual and ensembled algorithms.

Results:

Compared with manual classification, the machine-learning random forests algorithm produced 84% recall and 91% precision. With algorithm ensembling, we achieved our target criterion of 90% recall by using a consensus ensemble of ≥6 algorithms while still retaining 93% coverage, leaving only 7% of the summary expenditure records unclassified.

Conclusions:

Machine learning can be a time- and cost-saving tool for estimating public health spending in the United States. It can be used with standardized public health spending categories based on the Foundational Public Health Services model to help parse public health expenditure information from other types of health-related spending, provide data that are more comparable across public health organizations, and evaluate the impact of evidence-based public health resource allocation.
Relational Distance and Epistemic Generosity: The Power of Detachment in Skeptical Ethnography
Authors: Fine Gary Alan
Published: March 2017

Much contemporary ethnography hopes to engage with a community to justify social critique. Whether from problem selection, interpersonal rewards, or a desire for exchange, researchers often take the “side” of informants. Such an approach, linked to “public ethnography,” marginalizes a once-traditional approach to fieldwork, that of the ethnographic stranger. I present a model of scholarly detachment and questioning of group interests. Drawing on my own experiences and those of members of the Second Chicago School, I argue for an approach in which an unaffiliated observer questions community interests, arguing that skepticism of local explanations can discover processes shared by other scenes and can develop transsituational concepts. While the ethnographer can be seduced into sharing a group’s perspective, observational distancing can mitigate this. In an approach I label skeptical ethnography, the ethnographic stranger avoids partisan allegiance in the field and at the desk. Skepticism of local interests must be combined with an epistemic generosity that recognizes that all action, whether seemingly righteous or repellent, responds to an interaction order.
“Drinking Cultures” in University Residential Colleges
Authors: Leontini Rose , Schofield Toni , Brown Rebecca , Hepworth Julie
Published: March 2017

Young people’s heavy alcohol use has been widely linked to their “drinking cultures.” Recent scholarly commentary, however, suggests that prevailing conceptualizations of drinking culture, including those in “public health-oriented” research, tend to oversimplify the complexities involved. This article contributes to the conceptual clarification and development of young people’s “drinking cultures.” We provide a case study of a highly publicized example—that of Australian university residential college students. The case study focuses on the role of residential college policy and management in students’ alcohol use, examining how they represent, understand, and address it. Adopting a qualitative approach, we identify and analyze key themes from college policy documents and minimally structured interviews with college management related to students’ alcohol use. Our analysis is informed by two key existing works on the subject. The first is a sociological framework theorizing young people’s heavy drinking as a “culture of intoxication,” which is embedded in and shaped by broader social forces, especially those linked to a “neoliberal social order.” The second draws on findings from a previously published study on student drinking in university residential colleges that identified the significant role of institutional “micro-processes” for shaping alcohol use in university residential colleges. In understanding the specific character of students’ drinking in Australian university residential colleges, however, we also draw on sociological—specifically neo-institutionalist—approaches to organizations, proposing that Australian college policy and management related to students’ drinking do not operate simply as regulatory influences. Rather, they are organizational processes integral to residential college students’ drinking cultures and their making. Accordingly, college alcohol policy and management of students’ drinking, as they have prevailed in this Australian context, offer limited opportunities for minimizing harmful drinking.
Community College Faculty Conceptualizations of Shared Governance: Shared Understandings of a Sociopolitical Reality
Authors: Kater Susan T.
Published: March 2017

Objective: This study seeks to deepen understanding of faculty leaders’ perceptions of the concept of shared governance. Moving beyond descriptive considerations of faculty perceptions of efficacy of good or bad governance and the discourse focused on declining faculty involvement and conflict paradigms, I consider governance a co-constructed sociopolitical phenomenon in a neoliberal environment. Method: Qualitative analysis of interviews with 27 faculty from nine community colleges in five states was deconstructed to uncover common themes and understandings. Results: Themes of the importance of the faculty voice, trust and transparency, apathy and disengagement emerged. The findings support recent research which suggests that social and cultural aspects of soft governance are key variables in how faculty conceptualize shared governance. Contributions: The study addresses a gap in the literature in understanding how faculty conceptualize shared governance, and supports findings of recent research that suggest the importance of communication and trust in governance. In addition, the study suggests the need for further research in understanding how faculty are socialized into governance roles.
Property Rights, Redevelopment Areas, and Toronto Ratepayer Associations in the 1950s
Authors: Hess Paul M. , Lewis Robert
Published: March 2017

In the 1950s, Toronto ratepayer associations inserted themselves into debates about property relations and the appropriate use of the City’s new redevelopment authority as then being tested by elected officials and developers. Two case studies are presented: a designated redevelopment area where the City failed to close a deal with development firms, and a request, ultimately denied, by a developer group to to have the City establish another area to acquire the properties they had failed to. In both cases, ratepayer associations did not question City expropriation of private property if done for a sufficiently public purpose but argued vehemently against City expropriation of land from one set of private owners to benefit another. Although it is not possible to fully know the effect ratepayer associations had on these failed attempts of using redevelopment authority, they should be seen as urban social movements organized to protect local property rights from developers and a new interventionist local state.
The Effectiveness of Simulation on Recognizing and Managing Clinical Deterioration: Meta-Analyses
Authors: Orique Sabrina B. , Phillips Lorraine J.
Published: March 2017

The purpose of these meta-analyses was to quantitatively synthesize the effectiveness of simulation on student nurses’ and registered nurses’ ability to recognize and manage clinical deterioration in the acute care setting. A search of the literature resulted in 22 reports and 19 studies meeting inclusion criteria. Four random-effects analyses were conducted to examine two-group posttest and single-group pre–posttest intervention effect sizes for knowledge and performance. A total of 41 effect sizes were calculated from the data extracted. The standardized mean difference ( d) for two-group posttest knowledge was d = 0.964 ( p = .001) and for performance was d = 1.382 ( p ≤ .001). The standardized mean difference for single-group pre–posttest knowledge was d = 1.231 ( p ≤ .001) and performance was d = 1.610 ( p ≤ .001). Findings indicate that simulation-based interventions have a positive effect on knowledge and performance. As simulation is increasingly used as a teaching modality in nursing, further research should aim to test standardized simulation-based education programs.
The Emergence of an Organizational Field: The Case of Open Source Software
Authors: Ojha Abhoy K , Rao Ravi Anand
Published: March 2017

Institutional theory offers a very powerful lens to understand and explain societal phenomena. In the context of innovation and technology, this perspective provides insights that complement the understandings derived from a focus on just technology or economics. Adopting this standpoint, this paper examines the emergence of the organizational field of open source software as a response to the norms of propriety software that were unacceptable to many passionate software researchers and programmers.

The context of software product development has some unique characteristics that separates it from other industries. First, software products are information goods. In general, information goods have very high fixed costs of development and low marginal costs of reproduction which often leads to market inefficiencies. Second, IP protection has the potential to exaggerate the problem of market inefficiencies. Third, software is an input and also an output of the production function and IP protection has the potential to make the cost of software products prohibitively high. Fourth, the Internet has created the potential for the larger society to participate in the production process. These features of the software industry influence the dynamics among software professionals and orgnizations creating a distinctive context which can be better understood through the lens of institutional theory.

According to institution theory, organizations seek to obtain legitimacy, which goes beyond technological or economic performance, by conforming to institutional requirements in a context. There are three forms of legitimacy. Pragmatic legitimacy, based on regulative requirements, is acquired by complying with the legal and regulative rules in the organizational field. Moral legitimacy, based on normative requirements, is obtained by ensuring that the activities of an organization promote societal good or welfare. Finally, cognitive legitimacy is derived from the extent to which the activities of an organization mesh with the taken-for-granted norms in the larger context. While institutions are normally sustained for long, they do experience change. Institutional change is driven by institutional entrepreneurs who create, maintain, and disrupt the practices that are considered legitimate, and challenge the boundaries that demarcate one field from another.

The findings of this study capture the intricate dynamics and interactions among institutional requirements, software professionals and organizations that led to the norms of the institution of propriety software being challenged. It suggests that the process of institutional change can lead to the creation of a new alternate organizational field leaving the original field largely untouched. This paper contributes to the understanding of the software industry and suggests implications for other industries that produce information goods.
Analysis of Potential Legal Strategies for Mitigation of Workplace Bullying in India
Authors: Stephen Tina K. , Sasi Arun
Published: March 2017

India’s legislature, judiciary and academia have by and large cast a blind eye on workplace bullying. There is literary vacuum on legal aspects of workplace bullying in Indian context. This article tries to address this dearth of literature by analyzing potential legal remedies and roadmaps for mitigation of bullying in Indian workplaces. It tries to achieve this by evaluating existing legal provisions with potential of mitigating workplace bullying and comparatively analyzing legal strategies of other countries.
Spatial impacts of the creation of Brasília: A natural experiment
Authors: Grimes Arthur , Matlaba Valente J , Poot Jacques
Published: March 2017

Using data spanning 70 years (1939–2008), we examine whether Kubitschek’s planned creation of Brasília and its associated highway network had its intended effect of spreading development from Brazil’s coast to its interior. Specifically, we test whether the spatial structure of the country’s urban population and per capita GDP changed as a result of Brasília’s inauguration in 1960. Uniquely amongst studies of Brasília’s impacts, we use a ‘spatial-difference-in-differences’ approach, contrasting pre-Brasília with post-Brasília outcomes. We control for macroeconomic conditions, fixed city-specific factors, convergence forces, changing industrial structure and agglomeration impacts arising from proximity to São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. We find a modest impact on population in the western coastal and western interior regions whose share of Brazil’s urban population increased from 4.8% (1959) to 9.0% (2008); our spatial-difference-in-differences estimates show the impact to be statistically significant. We confirm per capita income convergence across regions, but we find no (descriptive or statistical) evidence of per capita income effects related to proximity to Brasília. Thus, even a massive development initiative such as Brasília’s creation is estimated to have had only limited population impacts and zero per capita income impacts on the spatial structure of Brazil’s economy outside of Brasília itself.
Planning, uncertainty and risk: The neoliberal logics of Amsterdam urbanism
Authors: Savini Federico
Published: March 2017

Since the last decade, rising concern related to uncertainty in urban dynamics has encouraged alternative approaches to land development in order to reduce financial risks of public spending while stimulating new investments. In particular, municipalities are experimenting with more open-ended, incremental and co-produced forms of urbanism that aim to reform existent supply-led urban development models. This paper shows that these practices underlie a neoliberal reform of public spending and that they have important socio-political implications for urban welfare. By discussing the relation between uncertainty and risk, it shows that recent reforms of urban development policies do not reduce risk but rather reorganize it in two ways. First, by resizing the time horizon of action and prioritizing short-term delivery, and second, by simultaneously privatizing and collectivizing risk to individuals and public budgets. An in-depth analysis of recent reforms in Amsterdam public financing model is provided. This paper concludes that a risk-sensitive view of planning innovation is today necessary in order to address future socio-economic challenges of urban change.
Safe Drilling Paths in the Distal Femoral Epiphysis for Pediatric Medial Patellofemoral Ligament Reconstruction
Authors: Nguyen Cynthia V. , Farrow Lutul D. , Liu Raymond W. , Gilmore Allison
Published: March 2017

Background:

Anatomic surgical reconstruction of the medial patellofemoral ligament (MPFL) has been popularized for the treatment of recurrent patellar instability in the skeletally immature population. Previous anatomic studies have found that the femoral attachment point of the MPFL is very close to the distal femoral physis.

Purpose:

To establish the safe angles for drilling the distal femoral epiphysis for MPFL graft placement.

Study Design:

Descriptive laboratory study.

Methods:

A total of 23 cadaveric distal femoral epiphyses were scanned into high-resolution 3-dimensional images. Using computer-aided design, we identified and marked the femoral insertion site of the MPFL. Cylinders 8 mm in diameter were placed at varying angles to simulate the drill paths for placement of 6-mm interference screws with a 1-mm buffer. The distance from the MPFL footprint to where the tunnel first violated the physis, the intercondylar notch, or the distal cartilage was measured. We recorded the percentage of tunnels that caused violations before reaching 20 mm, the shortest length of a typical femoral tunnel socket.

Results:

Measurements indicated that 41% of tunnels angled distally less than 10° violated the physis, 40% of tunnels angled distally more than 10° but anteriorly less than 10° violated the notch, and 27% of tunnels angled distally and anteriorly more than 20° violated the distal femoral cartilage. At least 90% of the tunnels were safe at 20 mm when the drill was angled between 15° and 20° both anteriorly and distally.

Conclusion:

Because of the anatomy of the distal femoral physis, drilling into the epiphysis from the MPFL attachment site at improper trajectories risks damage to sensitive structures. Angling the drill to an acceptable degree distally and anteriorly leads to less risk to the physis and notch, respectively, but angling too much leads to risk to the distal femoral cartilage. Small variations in the sagittal plane were better tolerated than variations in the coronal plane, so we recommend that more attention be paid to the radiographic anteroposterior view intraoperatively. It is safest to angle the drill distally and anteriorly approximately 15° to 20° in each plane from the MPFL attachment site.

Clinical Relevance:

During drilling into the distal femoral epiphysis at the MPFL origin in skeletally immature patients, angling the drill appropriately 15° to 20° both distally and anteriorly minimizes damage to the physis, notch, and distal femoral cartilage.
Patellofemoral Kinematics and Tibial Tuberosity–Trochlear Groove Distances in Female Adolescents With Patellofemoral Pain
Authors: Carlson Victor R. , Boden Barry P. , Sheehan Frances T.
Published: March 2017

Background:

Patellofemoral pain (PFP) is a prevalent disorder among female adolescents. Overuse is frequently cited as the cause of pain for this population. What is currently unclear, however, is if the patella demonstrates abnormal tracking patterns relative to the femoral trochlear groove in female adolescents with PFP.

Purpose:

The aim of this case-control study was to determine if abnormal patellar tracking patterns are present in female adolescents with PFP. The secondary aim was to identify if an increased tibial tuberosity–trochlear groove (TT-TG) distance is associated with the observed kinematic patterns.

Study Design:

Controlled laboratory study.

Methods:

Twenty female adolescent knees from 12 patients with PFP and 20 age-matched female knees from 13 healthy controls were recruited for this study. Patellofemoral kinematics (eg, lateral patellar displacement) during a repetitive knee extension-flexion maneuver was quantified by dynamic cine phase-contrast magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Static MRI scans were used to determine the TT-TG distance.

Results:

Relative to the control cohort, female adolescents with PFP demonstrated significantly greater lateral displacement at 10° (3.2 mm; P < .001), 20° (2.3 mm; P < .001), and 30° (1.7 mm; P = .014) of knee flexion. A subgroup within this cohort (7 knees from 5 patients) demonstrated extreme lateral maltracking >2 SDs of the mean of the control cohort. This subgroup also demonstrated a greater TT-TG distance relative to the controls (Δ = 4.2 mm; P = .001).

Conclusion:

This study demonstrates abnormal lateral patellar displacement in the absence of patellar tilt in female adolescents with PFP. Because all adolescents from both cohorts participated in impact sports, it appears that rigorous athletic training alone is inadequate to produce symptoms in this population. Rather, PFP may derive from a combination of physical activity in the context of pathological kinematics.

Clinical Relevance:

Abnormal patellar tracking patterns and abnormal static alignment have been shown to contribute to the etiology of patellofemoral pain in adults. This study demonstrates that pathologic patellar tracking patterns are present in adolescent females with patellofemoral pain.