bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Pro-nociceptive migraine mediator CGRP provides neuroprotection of sensory, cortical and cerebellar neurons via multi-kinase signaling
Authors: Abushik Polina A , Bart Geneviève , Korhonen Paula , Leinonen Hanna , Giniatullina Raisa , Sibarov Dmitry A , Levonen Anna-Liisa , Malm Tarja , Antonov Sergei M , Giniatullin Rashid
Published: November 2016

Background

Blocking the pro-nociceptive action of CGRP is one of the most promising approaches for migraine prophylaxis. The aim of this study was to explore a role for CGRP as a neuroprotective agent for central and peripheral neurons.

Methods

The viability of isolated rat trigeminal, cortical and cerebellar neurons was tested by fluorescence vital assay. Engagement of Nrf2 target genes was analyzed by qPCR. The neuroprotective efficacy of CGRP in vivo was tested in mice using a permanent cerebral ischemia model.

Results

CGRP prevented apoptosis induced by the amino acid homocysteine in all three distinct neuronal populations. Using a set of specific kinase inhibitors, we show the role of multi-kinase signaling pathways involving PKA and CaMKII in neuronal survival. Forskolin triggered a very similar signaling cascade, suggesting that cAMP is the main upstream trigger for multi-kinase neuroprotection. The specific CGRP antagonist BIBN4096 reduced cellular viability, lending further support to the proposed neuroprotective function of CGRP. Importantly, CGRP was neuroprotective against permanent ischemia in mice.

Conclusion

Our data show an unexpected ‘positive’ role for the endogenous pro-nociceptive migraine mediator CGRP, suggesting more careful examination of migraine prophylaxis strategy based on CGRP antagonism although it should be noted that homocysteine induced apoptosis in primary neuronal cell culture might not necessarily reproduce all the features of cell loss in the living organism.
Intersectionality of Race, Ethnicity, Gender, and Age on Criminal Punishment
Authors: Steffensmeier Darrell , Painter-Davis Noah , Ulmer Jeffery
Published: November 2016

Race, ethnicity, gender, and age are core foci within sociology and law/criminology. Also prominent is how these statuses intersect to affect behavioral outcomes, but statistical studies of intersectionality are rare. In the area of criminal sentencing, an abundance of studies examine main and joint effects of race and gender but few investigate in detail how these effects are conditioned by defendant’s age. Using recent Pennsylvania sentencing data and a novel method for analyzing statistical interactions, we examine the main and combined effects of these statuses on sentencing. We find strong evidence for intersectionality: Harsher sentences concentrate among young black males and Hispanic males of all ages, while the youngest females (regardless of race/ethnicity) and some older defendants receive leniency. The focal concerns model of sentencing that frames our study has strong affinity with intersectionality perspectives and can serve as a template for research examining the ways social statuses shape inequality.
Fishermen’s taverns: Public houses and maritime labour in an early modern French fishing community
Authors: Grancher Romain
Published: November 2016

This article is based on civil proceedings brought before Dieppe’s Admiralty Court by actors from the local fishing world, especially boat masters. It provides an account of the functions performed by inns, taverns and alehouses within this professional environment. Paying close attention to the social uses of public houses which transpire through judicial archives, it aims to show how these institutions, which played a key role in Old Regime societies, not only worked as nodes in fishing organisation, but also as public arenas where the craft community’s relationships were built.
Shipowning and investment in the Port of Sydney, Nova Scotia, 1820–1914: A preliminary analysis
Authors: Sinclair Frank A
Published: November 2016

This preliminary analysis of shipowning and investment in the Port of Sydney, Nova Scotia, 1820–1914, aims to extend the methodology employed by the Atlantic Canada Shipping Project (ACSP), 1976–1982, to Sydney in an attempt to test the primary sources and the validity of the approach in a detailed port case study. Findings show a rebound of investments in the decade and a half before the outbreak of the First World War which was significantly different than elsewhere in Atlantic Canada. The large peaks at the beginning of the twentieth century, coupled with the chronology of Sydney’s industrialization, suggests great potential for the continued use of ACSP methodology in this study. This note also identifies for the first time the major shipowner of the port, Thomas Dickson Archibald of the Archibald Firm, as well as the direction of future research of Sydney and this important Atlantic Canadian family in maritime history.
The role of Chinese cabotage in Northeast-Asian hub-port development and container shipbuilding
Authors: Fendos Justin , Koo Bonsung , Lee Wonjae
Published: November 2016

China’s economic boom in the 1990s and 2000s created an unprecedented level of seaborne trade in Northeast Asia, which was regulated by various maritime policies. The most notable were cabotage laws, which restricted the free movement of foreign vessels in Chinese waters. These restrictions created a demand for international container transhipment; a call answered by different countries to different degrees, largely based on their historic economic links with China. In this article, we review the rise of transhipment hubs in Northeast Asia, while also examining the synergistic relationship between hub ports and container shipbuilding. We demonstrate that it is not a coincidence that over 80 per cent of all new container ships are produced in Northeast Asia, linking the transhipment boom to the phenomenon of container ship overcapacity observed in 2016. We also offer a five-stage visual summary depicting how a country can respond to an export boom by adjusting cabotage policies: first to facilitate export, then to protect domestic shipping. This concept offers specific predictions for two hubs actively involved in transhipment with China: Hong Kong and Busan.
Reinterpreting nineteenth-century accounts of whales battling ‘sea serpents’ as an illation of early entanglement in pre-plastic fishing gear or maritime debris
Authors: France R. L.
Published: November 2016

Entanglement of whales in active fishing gear and abandoned maritime debris is recognized to be a serious problem in contemporary marine conservation biology, one that is commonly believed to have its origin with the introduction of non-degrading plastic in the mid-twentieth century. As many sightings of purported sea serpents are now acknowledged to have been due to misidentified cetaceans, this anecdotal literature can provide a valuable resource for extending inferences about whale biology backward in time. This article examines this corpus of evidence to suggest that what have been mistakenly believed to have been sea serpents, sighted in both pre- and post-plastic time periods, were in fact sometimes entangled whales. Furthermore, and in particular, what were once a popular staple of nineteenth-century maritime lore – recountings of whales locked in mortal combat with sea serpents – are posited to be the earliest recorded observations existing of large cetaceans entangled in anthropogenic equipment or litter.
Self and The City: Social Identity and Ritual at New York City Football Club
Authors: Lee Mitchell
Published: November 2016

This article addresses the construction of a singing culture at New York City Football Club (NYCFC) over the course of its inaugural season in Major League Soccer (MLS). Although being a supporter can provide many of the feelings associated with the term “community,” in order to capture the fluid reality of twenty-first-century group formation, this article rejects that label, preferring to understand NYCFC fandom as an emerging “social identity.” Such an approach enables us to recognize the many layers of identification that form people’s self-concepts. I argue that NYCFC fandom, and perhaps social identities more broadly, are realized through ritual interaction in the form of normative group behavior. In this case, song is the meeting point of the converging worlds of soccer fandom and New York City, negotiating a shared musical culture that gives meaning to a new social identity.
Process and Variance Modeling
Authors: Payne G. Tyge , Pearson Allison W. , Carr Jon C.
Published: November 2016

Models are an important component of research design that serve as intermediaries between theories and data, often directing decisions about methods and statistics. This article discusses the basic differences and assumptions associated with process and variance models as a way of introducing the four articles contained within this special issue of Family Business Review on “Process and Variance Methods.” Specifically, we highlight three key issues regarding modeling—time and causality, measurement and operationalization, and model specification—making specific ties to the challenges often associated with family business research.
Electric sail-based displaced orbits with a refined thrust model
Authors: Niccolai Lorenzo , Quarta Alessandro A , Mengali Giovanni
Published: November 2016

This paper analyzes the performance of an electric solar wind sail for generating and maintaining a heliocentric circular displaced orbit. Previous research on this subject was based on a simplified mathematical model of the spacecraft thrust. However, recent studies have proposed a more accurate algorithm for evaluating both the modulus and the direction of the propulsive thrust as a function of some important parameters related to the spacecraft attitude. Therefore, a reappraisal of the problem is motivated by the need to revise past results, taking into account new information available on the propulsion system. Within this context, this paper focuses on circular displaced orbits that are characterized in terms of orbital period, heliocentric distance and elevation angle. The attitude configuration and the value of the spacecraft characteristic acceleration required for orbital maintenance are calculated. An in-depth analysis of the linear stability of displaced orbits is given. It is shown that displaced orbits are unstable when the elevation angle exceeds about 20°.
Repeat infection with Neisseria gonorrhoeae among active duty U.S. Army personnel: a population-based case-series study
Authors: Bautista Christian T , Wurapa Eyako K , Sateren Warren B , Morris Sara M , Hollingsworth Bruce P , Sanchez Jose L
Published: November 2016

Little information is known on the rate of repeat gonorrhea infection among U.S. military personnel. We analyzed all gonorrhea cases reported to the Defense Medical Surveillance System during 2006–2012 to determine the rate of repeat infection. During the seven-year study period, 17,602 active duty U.S. Army personnel with a first incident gonorrhea infection were reported. Among the 4987 women with a first gonorrhea infection, 14.4% had at least one repeat infection. Among the 12,615 men with a first gonorrhea infection, 13.7% had at least one repeat infection. Overall, the rate of repeat gonorrhea infection was 44.5 and 48.9 per 1000 person-years for women and men, respectively. Service members aged 17–19 years (hazard ratio [HR] for women = 1.51; HR for men = 1.71), African-American personnel (HR for women = 1.26; HR for men = 2.17), junior enlisted personnel (HR for women = 2.64; HR for men = 1.37), and those with one year or less of service (HR for women = 1.23; HR for men = 1.37) were at higher risk of repeat infection. The findings from this study highlight the need to develop targeted prevention initiatives including education, counseling, and retesting to prevent gonorrhea reinfections among U.S. Army personnel.
Sushruta: Father of plastic surgery in Benares
Authors: Bath Khushbir , Aggarwal Sourabh , Sharma Vishal
Published: November 2016

Sushruta has been regarded as one of the pioneers of surgery. He performed procedures with crude surgical instruments that paved the path for today's operations. However, his existence is shrouded in myth and mystery. Sushruta belonged to a rich heritage of learned scholars and practiced and taught surgery at Benares University around 600BC. His work is assembled into a monumental thesis, possibly the first text book on surgery, the ‘Sushruta Samhita’ where he describes surgical instruments, procedures, illnesses, medicinal plants and preparation, dissection and the study of human anatomy, embryology and fractures. Sushruta is perhaps best known for the nasal reconstruction flap which is still used in different versions. For all his contributions, he has been aptly titled ‘Father of Plastic Surgery’.
Doctor William Gunn (1804–1890): From the South Pacific Islands to Chatham Royal Dockyard
Authors: Biddle Richard
Published: November 2016

Doctor William Gunn had a long and varied career in the Royal Navy. After spending time on anti-slavery patrols along the west coast of Africa, he was posted to the south Pacific. At Pitcairn Island, he treated the inhabitants during an influenza epidemic, proving himself to be a determined and dedicated practitioner. Subsequently, he was appointed head of the medical department at Chatham Royal Dockyard (1859–1865), an appointment that coincided with the final stages of the Royal Navy's transition from sail and wood to steam and iron. The impact of these changes on the health of dockworkers was quickly felt at Chatham, and Gunn found himself in charge during the building of the first iron warship in a royal dockyard. His story thus offers a window through which to observe a practitioner confronting the health issues and medical uncertainties thrown up by technological change in the Victorian era.
Karl Otto Landsteiner (1868–1943). Physician–biochemist–immunologist
Authors: Goldman Armond S , Schmalstieg Frank C
Published: November 2016

Karl Landsteiner applied the sciences of biochemistry, pathology, microbiology, and immunology in medical research to great success during the first half of the 20th century. Although he is principally known for elucidating the major blood group antigens A and B and their isoantibodies for which he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, Landsteiner made many other important medical discoveries. In that respect, he ascertained that paralytic poliomyelitis was due to a virus, the pancreas was damaged in cystic fibrosis, simple chemicals called haptens were able to combine with antibodies, and the Rh antigen that was later found to be the principal cause of hemolytic anemia of the newborn was found in most humans. Moreover, Landsteiner’s book “The Specificity of Serological Reactions” was a precursor to the molecular revolution in immunology that occurred after Second World War. Finally, he was one of the leaders of the American Association of Immunology and of the Journal of Immunology.
Yoshitaka Komiya’s visits to China and schistosomiasis investigation
Authors: Fan Ka-wai
Published: November 2016

This article is about a Japanese parasitologist, Yoshitaka Komiya (1900–1976), who was invited to China for a schistosomiasis investigation in 1956. In 1955, Chairman Mao initiated a national campaign to eliminate schistosomiasis, which at that time was still common in southern China, and for this purpose, the People’s Republic of China invited Yoshitaka Komiya to China. He published a report based on his observations during this visit. This article aims to explore the meaning of Komiya’s visit to the People’s Republic of China and his observations about the anti-schistosomiasis campaign.
How Canada’s Asbestos Industry Was Defeated in Quebec
Authors: Ruff Kathleen
Published: November 2016

Less than a decade ago, the Quebec asbestos industry enjoyed support from all the political parties in the Canadian House of Commons and the Quebec National Assembly, as well as from business and union organizations. Two lobby organizations (Chrysotile Institute and International Chrysotile Association) had significant global impact in promoting asbestos use and defeating asbestos ban efforts in developing countries. Quebec’s two asbestos mines planned to expand operations and make Quebec the second biggest global asbestos exporter. With the aid of lobbyists, public relations consultants, and government financing, the asbestos industry came close to succeeding. The article examines how a campaign of international solidarity, involving scientific experts, asbestos victims, and health activists in Quebec, Canada, and overseas, succeeded in closing the two mines and defeating the political and social power that the Quebec asbestos industry had wielded for a century. This victory ended Canada’s destructive role as global propagandist for the asbestos industry.
Harnessing Social Media to Promote Arab-centric Understanding of Middle East Affairs
Authors: Nalloor Joseph John , Scott Tracie Lea
Published: November 2016

It has been nearly a generation since Edward Said, Michel Foucault and Homi Bhabha pointed out the invariable effects of the dominant discourse on the ‘other’, such as the stereotyped depiction of the Arab world in the global media. This essay argues that one of the reasons for the entrenched stereotypes relate to a historical colonial and imperial power matrix. It excavates a few of these critical ideas and queries whether the limitations of social media on the dominant discourse can be understood through this theoretical lens. It aims to provide a better understanding of how a more Arab-centric understanding of Middle East affairs can be fostered through social media.
Airborne sound insulation of vacuum insulating glazing: General observations from measurements
Authors: Cabrera Densil , Ashmore Nathan , Kocer Cenc
Published: November 2016

Vacuum insulating glazing can be very effective as a thermal insulator, which makes it potentially useful in reducing energy loss through building facades. This article examines its effectiveness for airborne sound insulation. Measurements of intensity sound reduction index were made of samples of single glazing and commercially manufactured vacuum insulating glazing, which showed that vacuum insulating glazing (made from pairs of panes with the same thickness) followed mass law principles in the low-frequency range, with a deep coincidence dip in mid-to high-frequency region. The coincidence dip occurred at the frequency for an individual constituent pane. The coincidence dip was reduced or removed by clamping another pane of glass to the vacuum insulating glazing sample. The resulting airborne sound insulation rating of the augmented vacuum insulating glazing samples is substantially improved and comparable to ratings achieved by other thin window airborne sound insulation techniques.
Effectiveness of mycophenolate mofetil as first-line therapy in AQP4-IgG, MOG-IgG, and seronegative neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders
Authors: Montcuquet Alexis , Collongues Nicolas , Papeix Caroline , Zephir Helene , Audoin Bertrand , Laplaud David , Bourre Bertrand , Brochet Bruno , Camdessanche Jean-Philippe , Labauge Pierre , Moreau Thibault , Brassat David , Stankoff Bruno , de Seze Jerome , Vukusic Sandra , Marignier Romain ,   on behalf of NOMADMUS study group and the Observatoire Français de la Sclérose en Plaques (OFSEP)
Published: November 2016

Objective:

To evaluate the effectiveness and tolerance of mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) as a first-line treatment in neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD).

Methods:

In all, 67 NMOSD patients treated by MMF as first-line therapy, from the NOMADMUS cohort were included. A total of 65 fulfilled 2015 NMOSD criteria, and 5 were myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG)-immunoglobulin G (IgG) positive. Effectiveness was evaluated on percentage of patients continuing MMF, percentage of patients free of relapse, pre- and post-treatment change in the annualized relapse rate (ARR), and Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS).

Results:

Among 67 patients, 40 (59.7%) continued treatment till last follow-up. A total of 33 (49.3%) were relapse-free. The median ARR decreased from one pre-treatment to zero post-treatment. Of 53 patients with complete EDSS data, the score improved or stabilized in 44 (83%; p < 0.05). Effectiveness was observed in aquaporin-4 (AQP4)-IgG (57.8% continued treatment, 46.7% relapse-free), MOG-IgG (3/5 continued treatment, 4/5 relapse-free), and seronegative NMOSD (64.7% continued treatment, 61.3% relapse-free). In 16 patients with associated steroids, 13 (81.2%) continued MMF till last follow-up versus 15 of 28 (53.6%) in the non-steroid group. Nine patients discontinued treatment for tolerability purpose.

Conclusion:

MMF showed effectiveness and good tolerability as a first-line therapy in NMOSD, whatever the AQP4-IgG status. Concomitant use of oral steroids at start could limit the risk of treatment failure.
How unemployment and precarious employment affect the health of young people: A scoping study on social determinants
Authors: Vancea Mihaela , Utzet Mireia
Published: November 2016

Background: The impact of unemployment and precarious employment on the health of young people is not well understood. However, according to social causation, higher socio-economic positions and thus better working conditions are beneficial to health in general. We tried to synthesize the results of studies that test this hypothesis in the case of young people. Methods: We conducted a scoping study mapping all the academic articles published in the period 2006–2016 in Europe. The literature was searched in PubMed/Medline, Science Direct, Web of Science and Scopus. Results: We identified 1770 studies, of which only 46 met the inclusion criteria. There are more studies that focus on the relationship between unemployment and health than between precarious employment and health (28 and 16, respectively). The vast majority of the studies (44) found support for the social causation hypothesis, the most common health outcomes being mental health disorders, health risk behaviour, poor quality of life and occupational injuries. The causal mechanisms behind this association relied mainly on the life-course perspective, the breadwinner model, and the lack of social and economic benefits provided by standard employment. Conclusions:There is evidence that young people are especially vulnerable to health problems when unemployed or working in precarious conditions. Active labour market and training programmes, inclusive social security measures, improved working conditions and targeted health programmes are important for addressing this vulnerability. Further research should strive to enhance the causal model by including a gender perspective, longitudinal data, more indicators on precariousness and third factor explanations.
Winds of the South: Intercultural university models for the 21st century
Authors: Guilherme Manuela , Dietz Gunther
Published: November 2016

This issue of Arts and Humanities in Higher Education focuses on innovative initiatives which are emerging in different Latin-American university contexts as well as a few other experiments in traditionally established universities. Sometimes these initiatives are newly created higher education institutions that are rooted inside indigenous regions, in other cases conventional universities start to “interculturalize” their student population, their teaching staff, or even their curricular contents and methods. Despite certain criticisms, community leaders frequently claim and celebrate the appearance of these new higher education opportunities as part of a strategy of empowering ethnic actors of indigenous or afro-descendant origin. After an interview to Boaventura de Sousa Santos, Laura Selene Mateos Cortés, and Gunther Dietz, analyze the different ways in which the Mexican intercultural education subsystem conceives “interculturalidad.” The next article, by Guillermo Williamson, also “expresses interculturality polyphonically from the Latin-American perspective” and reports “the nature and condition of the academic reflection on interculturality carried out in universities, in supposedly intercultural contexts.” Then, Carlos Octavio Sandoval brings the focus back to Mexico and the Intercultural University of Veracruz; in the article that follows, Isabel Dulfano explores the relationship between antiglobalization, counterhegemonic discourse, and indigenous feminist alternative knowledge production. She bases her article on the autoethnographic writing of some Indigenous feminists from Latin America that questions the assumptions and presuppositions of Western development models and globalization, while asserting an identity as contemporary Indigenous activist academic women. Christine D. Beaule and Benito Quintana’s article adds to the topic of this special issue with the argument of interdisciplinarity bringing together both an archaeological and anthropological perspectives of indigeneity to the higher education classroom. And finally, Catherine Manathunga focuses on the issue of intercultural doctoral supervision.
Cultural Diversity in Introductory Psychology Textbook Selection: The Case for Historically Black Colleges/Universities (HBCUs)
Authors: Whaley Arthur L. , Clay William A. L. , Broussard Dominique
Published: November 2016

The present study describes a culturally relevant approach to introductory psychology textbook selection for students attending a historically Black college/university (HBCU). The following multistage procedure was used: (1) a survey of HBCU psychology departments was conducted to ascertain how they selected their introductory psychology textbooks; (2) a review of the literature on introductory psychology textbook selection was performed to identify criteria; and (3) rating criteria were developed; used in the actual selection of a textbook for HBCU students; and were subjected to psychometric analysis. The psychometric analyses of 240 ratings (10 criteria X 4 raters X 6 books) involved both reliability assessment of the scale with the selection criteria as items and interrater reliability in evaluating introductory psychology textbooks. The survey of HBCU faculty yielded no consensus or systematic process from the respondents. Both internal consistency reliability and agreement among faculty were adequate on the rating instrument for the total scores and subscale scores of Quality of Learning Resources and Learning and Comprehension. However, the subscale scores for Cultural Relevance yielded mixed results by type of reliability: Interrater agreement was adequate but internal consistency reliability was poor. Future research using multiple methodologies must address the relevancy of cultural diversity for introductory psychology courses
Intrapulmonary Percussive Ventilation as a Lung Recruitment Strategy in Brain-Dead Organ Donors
Authors: Lerg Geralyn , Shanta Linda
Published: November 2016

Objective:

To determine the strength of the evidence evaluating the effectiveness of intrapulmonary percussive ventilation (IPV) as a safe alternative or adjunctive therapy to traditional chest physiotherapy (CPT) among potential organ donors.

Data Sources:

Literature search conducted from February 2015 to November 2015 using PubMed, Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health Literature, Scopus, and bibliographies of pertinent articles.

Search Terms:

Intrapulmonary percussive ventilation, chest physiotherapy, chest wall oscillation, organ donors, and ventilation.

Study Selection:

Articles in English from 1994 to present directly compared IPV to CPT or conventional (no) therapy.

Data Extraction:

Association of Critical-Care Nurses Levels of Evidence was used to determine the strength of evidence. Level B and level C articles were reviewed.

Data Synthesis:

No studies were found using IPV in the donor population. Results from studies using IPV in other populations indicated IPV had no adverse effects, improved sputum clearance and oxygenation, and reduced atelectasis and pneumonia in patients with artificial airways.

Conclusion:

Intrapulmonary percussive ventilation may be a safe and effective alternative or adjunctive to CPT therapy and improve the number of lungs available for transplantation. Clinical research is essential to determine the effectiveness of this therapy for lung recruitment in the donor population.
Treatment of Multiple Myeloma in a Heart Transplant Recipient
Authors: Xie Lola , Jozwik Bartosz , Weeks Phillip , Buja L. Maximilian , Brown Robert , Nathan Sriram , Rajagopal Keshava , Paruthi Christina , Kar Biswajit , Loyalka Pranav , Rajapreyar Indranee
Published: November 2016

Malignancy following solid organ transplant remains a significant threat to the survival of cardiac transplant recipients. Plasma cell dyscrasias including multiple myeloma have been encountered in this population, and medication treatments traditionally used to treat these disorders demonstrate immunomodulatory effects that may have implications on the transplanted allograft. Lenalidomide is an immunomodulatory agent that has been used to treat plasma cell disorders, including light-chain amyloidosis (AL) and multiple myeloma, and represents such a class of medications in which the risks and benefits in the solid organ transplant population remain to be fully elucidated. This report highlights a clinical practice issue where the treatment of a patient’s multiple myeloma with lenalidomide may have potentiated an episode of severe acute cellular rejection and further demonstrates the need for future investigation of the optimal treatment of plasma cell disorders including AL amyloidosis and multiple myeloma following solid organ transplantation.
Injury, Interiority, and Isolation in Men’s Suicidality
Authors: Oliffe John L. , Creighton Genevieve , Robertson Steve , Broom Alex , Jenkins Emily K. , Ogrodniczuk John S. , Ferlatte Olivier
Published: November 2016

Men’s high suicide rates have been linked to individual risk factors including history of being abused as a child, single marital status, and financial difficulties. While it has also been suggested that the normative influences of hegemonic masculinities are implicated in men’s suicide, the gendered experiences of male suicidality are poorly understood. In the current photovoice study, 20 men who previously had suicidal thoughts, plans, and/or attempts were interviewed as a means to better understanding the connections between masculinities and their experiences of suicidality. The study findings revealed injury, interiority, and isolation as interconnected themes characterizing men’s suicidality. Injury comprised an array of childhood and/or cumulative traumas that fueled men’s ruminating thoughts inhibiting recovery and limiting hopes for improved life quality. In attempting to blunt these traumas, many men described self-injuring through the overuse of alcohol and other drugs. The interiority theme revealed how suicidal thoughts can fuel hopelessness amid summonsing remedies from within. The challenges to self-manage, especially when experiencing muddled thinking and negative thought were evident, and led some participants to summons exterior resources to counter suicidality. Isolation included separateness from others, and was linked to abandonment issues and not having a job and/or partner. Self-isolating also featured as a protection strategy to avoid troubling others and/or reducing exposure to additional noxious stimuli. The study findings suggest multiple intervention points and strategies, the majority of which are premised on promoting men’s social connectedness. The destigmatizing value of photovoice methods is also discussed.
Research and realization of improved extract–transform–load scheduler in China Southern Power Grid
Authors: Guo Li , Wenqi Huang , Xiaokai Yuan , Fuzheng Zhang , Chengzhi Chen , Shitao Chen
Published: November 2016

Applications of big data techniques in power system will make contributions to the sustainable development and robust establishment of China Southern Power Grid; thus, it is necessary that a new framework of China Southern Power Grid big data platform is constructed. Apart from key technologies, like data analysis, data process, and data visualization, the integration and fusion problem in the data warehouse plays an important role in the data analysis and mining with high quality. In order to minimize the operation time and memory consumption, various scheduling strategies of extract–transform–load workflows are proposed, including round-robin algorithm, minimum-cost algorithm, minimum-memory algorithm, and mixture of the minimum-cost and minimum-memory algorithm. In combination with above algorithms, a workflow is divided into many subflows by effective algorithms, like shortest-subflow-first and priority-backfilling algorithms, which can further improve the parallel computation ability. Then, the minimum-cost and minimum-memory with shortest-subflow-first algorithm, the minimum-cost and minimum-memory with priority-backfilling algorithm, and the minimum-cost and minimum-memory with shortest-subflow-first and priority-backfilling algorithm are established, which are designed to schedule subflows. Finally, aiming at characteristics of China Southern Power Grid big data, different performance indexes are cited to evaluate above algorithms, and the experiment results show that the minimum-cost and minimum-memory with shortest-subflow-first and priority-backfilling algorithm is superior to the hybrid prioritization algorithm based on the rank level of each task (hybrid), online workflow management, minimum-cost and minimum-memory with shortest-subflow-first, and the minimum-cost and minimum-memory with priority-backfilling algorithm, and the system robust performance is also significantly met and improved.
Predictive biomarkers and effectiveness of MUC1-targeted dendritic-cell-based vaccine in patients with refractory non-small cell lung cancer
Authors: Teramoto Koji , Ozaki Yoshitomo , Hanaoka Jun , Sawai Satoru , Tezuka Noriaki , Fujino Shozo , Daigo Yataro , Kontani Keiichi
Published: November 2016

Background:

The dendritic cell (DC)-based vaccine targeting the highly immunogenic tumor antigen, MUC1, has been promising for a cancer immunotherapy; however, predictive biomarkers for beneficial clinical responses of the vaccine remain to be determined.

Methods:

DCs loaded with MUC1-derived peptide were subcutaneously administered to patients with MUC1-positive non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) that was refractory to standard anticancer therapies, every 2 weeks. The effectiveness and tolerability of the vaccine were evaluated, and predictive biomarkers of clinical responses were explored.

Results:

Between August 2005 and May 2015, 40 patients received the vaccines. The median survival time (MST) after the initial vaccination was 7.4 months, and the 1-year survival rate was 25.0%. The MST for patients who received more than six vaccinations was 9.5 months, and the 1-year survival rate was 39.3%. In this cohort, patients who experienced immune-related adverse events, including skin reactions at the vaccination site and fever, had significantly longer survival times compared with patients without those immune-related adverse events (12.6 versus 6.7 months, p = 0.042). Longer survival times were also observed in patients whose peripheral white blood cells contained >20.0% lymphocytes (12.6 versus 4.5 months; p = 0.014). MUC1-specific cytotoxic immune responses were achieved in all of seven patients analyzed who received six vaccinations.

Conclusion:

The MUC1-targeted DC-based vaccine induced an antitumor immune response that promoted prolonged survival of patients with refractory NSCLC. The occurrence of immune-related adverse events and having a higher percentage of peripheral lymphocytes were predictive biomarkers of a beneficial clinical response during cancer immunotherapy for NSCLC.
Pokémon Go, the novelty of nostalgia, and the ubiquity of the smartphone
Authors: Keogh Brendan
Published: November 2016

None of the elements that contribute to the phenomenon of Pokémon Go are particularly new. Augmented-reality and location-based games, artworks, and marketing campaigns have existed for well over a decade. Meanwhile, the Pokémon franchise of videogames, trading cards, comic books, and anime has existed for more than two. Even the data that Pokémon Go is built from is generated by players of Niantic’s earlier locative game, Ingress. If there is nothing “new” about the phenomenon of Pokémon Go, then what is there to learn from its rapid ascension in the cultural zeitgeist?

In this article I maintain that it is the increased ubiquity of the smartphone and its tendency to reconfigure existing media and cultural practices that has allowed the novelty of augmented reality and the nostalgia of Pokémon to converge in a perfect storm of branding, design, preexisting data, and established technologies.
LBSizeCleav: improved support vector machine (SVM)-based prediction of Dicer cleavage sites using loop/bulge length
Authors: Bao Yu , Hayashida Morihiro , Akutsu Tatsuya
Published: November 2016

Background

Dicer is necessary for the process of mature microRNA (miRNA) formation because the Dicer enzyme cleaves pre-miRNA correctly to generate miRNA with correct seed regions. Nonetheless, the mechanism underlying the selection of a Dicer cleavage site is still not fully understood. To date, several studies have been conducted to solve this problem, for example, a recent discovery indicates that the loop/bulge structure plays a central role in the selection of Dicer cleavage sites. In accordance with this breakthrough, a support vector machine (SVM)-based method called PHDCleav was developed to predict Dicer cleavage sites which outperforms other methods based on random forest and naive Bayes. PHDCleav, however, tests only whether a position in the shift window belongs to a loop/bulge structure.

Result

In this paper, we used the length of loop/bulge structures (in addition to their presence or absence) to develop an improved method, LBSizeCleav, for predicting Dicer cleavage sites. To evaluate our method, we used 810 empirically validated sequences of human pre-miRNAs and performed fivefold cross-validation. In both 5p and 3p arms of pre-miRNAs, LBSizeCleav showed greater prediction accuracy than PHDCleav did. This result suggests that the length of loop/bulge structures is useful for prediction of Dicer cleavage sites.

Conclusion

We developed a novel algorithm for feature space mapping based on the length of a loop/bulge for predicting Dicer cleavage sites. The better performance of our method indicates the usefulness of the length of loop/bulge structures for such predictions.
MetaMIS: a metagenomic microbial interaction simulator based on microbial community profiles
Authors: Shaw Grace Tzun-Wen , Pao Yueh-Yang , Wang Daryi
Published: November 2016

Background

The complexity and dynamics of microbial communities are major factors in the ecology of a system. With the NGS technique, metagenomics data provides a new way to explore microbial interactions. Lotka-Volterra models, which have been widely used to infer animal interactions in dynamic systems, have recently been applied to the analysis of metagenomic data.

Results

In this paper, we present the Lotka-Volterra model based tool, the Metagenomic Microbial Interacticon Simulator (MetaMIS), which is designed to analyze the time series data of microbial community profiles. MetaMIS first infers underlying microbial interactions from abundance tables for operational taxonomic units (OTUs) and then interprets interaction networks using the Lotka-Volterra model. We also embed a Bray-Curtis dissimilarity method in MetaMIS in order to evaluate the similarity to biological reality. MetaMIS is designed to tolerate a high level of missing data, and can estimate interaction information without the influence of rare microbes. For each interaction network, MetaMIS systematically examines interaction patterns (such as mutualism or competition) and refines the biotic role within microbes. As a case study, we collect a human male fecal microbiome and show that Micrococcaceae, a relatively low abundance OTU, is highly connected with 13 dominant OTUs and seems to play a critical role. MetaMIS is able to organize multiple interaction networks into a consensus network for comparative studies; thus we as a case study have also identified a consensus interaction network between female and male fecal microbiomes.

Conclusions

MetaMIS provides an efficient and user-friendly platform that may reveal new insights into metagenomics data. MetaMIS is freely available at: https://sourceforge.net/projects/metamis/.
Early identification in primary health care of people at risk for sick leave due to work-related stress – study protocol of a randomized controlled trial (RCT)
Authors: Holmgren Kristina , Sandheimer Christine , Mårdby Ann-Charlotte , Larsson Maria E. H. , Bültmann Ute , Hange Dominique , Hensing Gunnel
Published: November 2016

Background

Early identification of persons at risk of sickness absence due to work-related stress is a crucial problem for society in general, and primary health care in particular. Tho date, no established method to do this exists. This project’s aim is to evaluate whether systematic early identification of work-related stress can prevent sickness absence. This paper presents the study design, procedure and outcome measurements, as well as allocation and baseline characteristics of the study population.

Method/design

The study is a two-armed randomized controlled trial with follow-up at 3, 6 and 12 months. Non-sick-listed employed women and men, aged 18 to 64 years, who had mental and physical health complaints and sought care at primary health care centers (PHCC) were eligible to participate. At baseline work-related stress was measured by the Work Stress Questionnaire (WSQ), combined with feedback at consultation, at PHCC. The preventive intervention included early identification of work-related stress by the WSQ, GP training in the use of WSQ, GP feedback at consultation and finding suitable preventive measures. A process evaluation was used to explore how to facilitate future implementation and structural use of the WSQ at the PHCC. The primary outcome to compare the preventive sick leave intervention by the general practitioner (GP) versus treatment as usual is sick leave data obtained from the Swedish Social Insurance Agency register.

Discussion

Early screening for sick leave due to work-related stress makes it possible not only to identify those at risk for sick leave, but also to put focus on the patient’s specific work-related stress problems, which can be helpful in finding suitable preventive measures. This study investigates if use of the WSQ by GPs at PHCCs, combined with feedback at consultation, prevents future sickness absence.

Trial registration

ClinicalTrials.gov. Identifier: NCT02480855. Registered 20 May 2015
A mixed-method study of the efficacy of physical activity consultation as an adjunct to standard smoking cessation treatment among male smokers in Malaysia
Authors: Lee Yuin Yi , Khoo Selina , Morris Tony , Hanlon Clare , Wee Lei-Hum , Teo Eng Wah , Adnan Yuhanis
Published: November 2016

Background

This study examined the effectiveness of using Physical Activity Consultation (PAC) as an addition to the standard smoking cessation treatment in Malaysia. We explored participants’ experiences in terms of physical activity and smoking abstinence with the combined PAC and smoking cessation intervention.

Methods

Walk-in smokers from a local smoking cessation clinic volunteered for the 8-week intervention program, while undergoing standard smoking cessation treatment. In Week 1, a facilitator conducted a face-to-face intervention to explore participants’ involvement in physical activity and helped to set physical activity strategies and goals for participants to increase physical activity levels. Participants were provided with follow-up phone calls at Weeks 3 and 6. Participants answered questionnaires that measured smoking withdrawal (Shiffman–Jarvik Withdrawal Scale), cessation self-efficacy (Cessation Self-efficacy Questionnaire), physical activity involvement (International Physical Activity Questionnaire), and mood (Brunel Mood Scale) upon recruitment, at post-intervention and at follow-up 3 months after the intervention ended. Participants also responded to interviews about their experiences with the PAC and smoking cessation treatment at post-intervention and at 3-month follow-up.

Results

Seven participants completed the program until follow-up. All were successfully abstinent. Only two participants increased physical activity levels, whereas others maintained their physical activity levels or showed slight decreases. Several themes were identified in this study, including participants’ experiences with withdrawal symptoms, smoking cessation self-efficacy, triggers to smoking cessation, thoughts on standard smoking cessation treatment in Malaysia, physical activity involvement, mood, and thoughts and beliefs on combining smoking cessation and physical activity.

Conclusions

This study suggests PAC was helpful in maintaining or increasing the overall physical activity levels of participants and could assist with smoking abstinence. Findings showed that all participants who stayed in the program were successfully abstinent. In general, the findings in this study provided promising results for further research on PAC as an adjunct to smoking cessation treatments in Malaysia.

Trial registration This intervention is registered with the Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (Trial registration number: ACTRN12616000269437).
Ole1, fatty acid desaturase, is required for Atg9 delivery and isolation membrane expansion during autophagy in Saccharomyces cerevisiae
Authors: Ogasawara Yuta , Kira Shintaro , Mukai Yukio , Noda Takeshi , Yamamoto Akitsugu
Published: November 2016

Macroautophagy, a major degradation pathway of cytoplasmic components, is carried out through formation of a double-membrane structure, the autophagosome. Although the involvement of specific lipid species in the formation process remains largely obscure, we recently showed that mono-unsaturated fatty acids (MUFA) generated by stearoyl-CoA desaturase 1 (SCD1) are required for autophagosome formation in mammalian cells. To obtain further insight into the role of MUFA in autophagy, in this study we analyzed the autophagic phenotypes of the yeast mutant of OLE1, an orthologue of SCD1. Δole1 cells were defective in nitrogen starvation–induced autophagy and the Cvt pathway when oleic acid was not supplied. Defect in elongation of the isolation membrane led to a defect in autophagosome formation. In the absence of Ole1, the transmembrane protein Atg9 was not able to reach the PAS, the site of autophagosome formation. Thus, autophagosome formation requires Ole1during the delivery of Atg9 to the PAS/autophagosome from its cellular reservoir.