bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Are Asian hands more flexible than their Caucasian counterparts?
Authors: Shahid Mohammad , Mahroof Sabreena , Wu Feiran , Bourne Kathryn , Jose Rajive , Titley Garth
Published: August 2013

Introduction

Though there is a general perception that Asian hands have an increased range of movements in all their joints, there is very little written in the literature on this topic. Our unit caters to a multiethnic population and it has been our experience that the outcomes after hand surgery are generally better in Asian hands. This study was aimed at comparing the range of movements between two cohorts of volunteers: Asians and Caucasians.

Methods

Data were collected on their ethnicity, gender, age, handedness and any medical conditions. The Beighton score was measured for all subjects and range of movements was measured using a standard goniometer. Totally, 114 subjects were enrolled into the study, which included 53 men (46%).

Results

There were 59 Caucasians and 55 Asians. The range of movements of wrist and hand was greater in Asians and the difference was statistically significant ( p < 0.05). Men in general had greater range of movement of the fingers whereas women had greater range of movement of the thumb. There was no difference between Asian men and women with regard to wrist movements. However, Caucasian women had greater wrists movements than Caucasian males. The average Beighton score was the highest in Asian women (7), followed by Asian men (6). Caucasian men and women had an average Beighton Score of 2.

Discussion

Normative data for different ethnic groups are important for hand therapy as they can guide rehabilitation protocols. Our study demonstrates that a difference in hand flexibility between British Asians and their Caucasian counterparts exists.
Cartilage Intermediate Layer Protein and Asporin Polymorphisms Are Independent Risk Factors of Lumbar Disc Degeneration in Male Collegiate Athletes
Authors: Min Seok-Ki , Nakazato Koichi , Ishigami Hideaki , Hiranuma Kenji
Published: August 2013

Objective:

Lumbar disc degeneration (LDDG), recently reported to have strong genetic determinants, is a major cause of discopathy and lower back pain. However, most studies have only evaluated the effects of a single susceptibility polymorphism. Our purpose was to examine the effect of two susceptibility polymorphism for LDDG in Japanese collegiate athletes.

Design:

We investigated two susceptibility genes for LDDG—cartilage intermediate layer protein (CILP) and asporin (ASPN)—in 516 collegiate athletes and genotyped the risk allele of CILP (1184T/C) and ASPN (D14). LDDG was evaluated using T2-weighted magnetic resonance imaging.

Results:

By using logistic regression analysis, we found that the ASPN D14 allele and CILP genotype were associated with an increased risk of LDDG in male but not female athletes (CILP CT: odds ratios [OR] = 1.77, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.07-2.93; CILP CC: OR = 4.38, 95% CI = 1.42-13.54; ASPN D14: OR = 2.17, 95% CI = 1.10-4.28]. We also found that CILP C and ASPN D14 were independent variables. The ORs with more than two risk alleles were largely increased.

Conclusions:

The CILP and ASPN polymorphisms are independent genetic risk factors for LDDG in male but not female Japanese collegiate athletes.
Concomitant elective resection of pheochromocytoma and repair of aortic abdominal aneurysm
Authors: Matadial Christina , Giquel Jadelis , Martinez-Ruiz Ricardo
Published: August 2013

Perioperative management of a patient with ischemic heart disease with coexisting abdominal aortic aneurysm and pheochromocytoma creates a difficult management dilemma, and surgical intervention in these patients carries a significant risk. The state of catecholamine excess and various other coexisting factors can lead to simultaneous occurrence of abdominal aortic aneurysm and pheocromocytoma. The purpose of this report is to present an integrated approach to the management of concomitant abdominal aortic aneurysm and pheochromocytoma, where a combined surgical approach in addressing these two lesions was preferable due to patient comorbidities and surgical implications without significant complication.
Faecal calprotectin and lactoferrin as markers for monitoring disease activity and predicting clinical recurrence in patients with Crohn’s disease after ileocolonic resection: A prospective pilot study
Authors: Yamamoto Takayuki , Shiraki Manabu , Bamba Takuya , Umegae Satoru , Matsumoto Koichi
Published: August 2013

Background:

Several studies have reported that faecal calprotectin and lactoferrin showed a close correlation with endoscopic inflammation in patients with inflammatory bowel disease. However, the clinical significance of faecal calprotectin or lactoferrin in postoperative Crohn’s disease (CD) is not fully evaluated. This prospective study was to investigate the relationship between endoscopic activity, and faecal calprotectin and lactoferrin, and assess the predictive value of these markers for future recurrence.

Methods:

Twenty patients who remained in remission during 6–12 months after ileocolonic resection for CD were included. All patients underwent ileocolonoscopy for assessing endoscopic activity (Rutgeerts score) in the neo‐terminal ileum. A stool sample was collected for measurement of calprotectin and lactoferrin. All patients were then followed up for 12 months, and clinical recurrence was defined as a CDAI >150 with an increase of ≥70 points.

Results:

The mean time between surgery and the endoscopic examination at entry was 7.2 months. The endoscopic scores were i0 or i1 in 10 patients, i2 in six patients, i3 in three patients, and i4 in one patient. Both calprotectin and lactoferrin positively correlated with the endoscopic scores (p  = 0.0001 and p  = 0.038, respectively). Six patients developed clinical recurrence during the 12‐month follow‐up. Both calprotectin and lactoferrin levels were significantly higher in patients with clinical recurrence than those in remission (p  = 0.0007 and p  = 0.025, respectively). A cutoff value of 170 µg/g for calprotectin had a sensitivity of 83% and a specificity of 93% to predict a risk of clinical recurrence, while a cutoff value of 140 µg/g for lactoferrin had a sensitivity of 67% and a specificity of 71%.

Conclusions:

Both calprotectin and lactoferrin levels correlate well with endoscopic activity after ileocolonic resection for CD. Calprotectin and lactoferrin could be clinically relevant biomarkers for predicting postoperative recurrence. Further well‐designed large trials should strengthen the findings of the present investigation.
The Idea of Healthy Lifestyle and Its Transformation Into Health-Oriented Lifestyle in Contemporary Society
Authors: Pakholok Olga
Published: August 2013

The major subject matter of the proposed article is the gap between global value of health and its practical implementation in the form of actual daily practices. The article addresses the concept of health in contemporary society and claims healthy lifestyle ideology to be the essence of contemporary health culture. Thus, this ideology is discussed as a basic framework proposed by the modern discourse with respect to body practices management as it builds up its logic of practice. Meanwhile, health-oriented lifestyle is considered to be a practical logic derived out of it. The author shows that there are four types of interconnection between the logical practice and the practice of logic, whereas health-oriented lifestyle is one of them. The article aims to demonstrate that health-oriented lifestyle concept in its visionary ideal form is quite far from being a practical guide for daily human behavior. Human beings are not ready to fight all their affections although they know much and sometimes they feel they can do much. This means that the basic ground for an evident discord between the high value of health and its practical incorporation into daily activities of concrete individuals lies in the field of physicality matters and civilization’s disability to manage them.
Seeing Something New
Authors: Jang Daisung , Kim Do-Yeong
Published: August 2013

With the rise of online commerce, consumers come into contact with novel products in unfamiliar categories. Our aim was to contribute to the understanding of explicit and implicit attitude formation by studying the effects of elaboration and repetition as strategies for the formation of positive explicit and implicit attitudes toward novel brands in unfamiliar categories. Across three studies, results indicated that explicit attitudes may form with both elaboration and repetition, but the presence of competing products interfered with positive explicit attitude formation. Elaboration was not an effective strategy for implicit attitude formation, but repetitive exposure of an object coupled with a positive valence was successful in the formation of positive implicit attitudes. There may be dual routes to explicit and implicit attitude formation with different consequences for managerial action. Limitations and managerial implications are discussed.
Women’s Resistance Strategies in Abusive Relationships
Authors: Hayes Brittany E.
Published: August 2013

Though abused women are often depicted in the media as passive, women in abusive relationships often resist their partner’s abuse. However, the experience of an abused woman will depend on her position in the social structure. First, an overview of resistance in abusive relationship is presented followed by a series of resistance strategies often used. The goal of this paper is to retell the intimate partner violence story and identify structural reforms that are consistent with the experience of intimate partner violence survivors. The response to intimate partner violence should move beyond criminal justice sanctions by involving the community.
Reminders as Interactive and Embodied Tools for Socially Distributed and Situated Remembering
Authors: Bietti Lucas M
Published: August 2013

Current approaches to socially distributed remembering maintain that remembering is a fluid action coordinating minds, bodies, and the physical and the social world to accomplish particular goals. That is, the act of remembering is always an active reconstruction of the past in the present. How this act of remembering unfolds is highly dynamic and malleable and is contingent on the means by which the recollection is communicated and the social and material environments in which these processes unfold. These communicative acts of remembering are always embodied, multimodal, and interactive. However, so far, little attention has been paid to the influence that the interplay of multiple behavioral channels have in collaborative remembering in small groups. The aim of this exploratory study is to demonstrate the central role that questions have as embodied and interactive tools for collaborative remembering in two small group multimodal interactions in natural settings. This study suggests that questions acting as a reminder in multimodal activities of collaborative remembering foster the formation of specific types of interactional sequences with their own temporal dynamics.
The p Factor
Authors: Caspi Avshalom , Houts Renate M. , Belsky Daniel W. , Goldman-Mellor Sidra J. , Harrington HonaLee , Israel Salomon , Meier Madeline H. , Ramrakha Sandhya , Shalev Idan , Poulton Richie , Moffitt Terrie E.
Published: August 2013

Mental disorders traditionally have been viewed as distinct, episodic, and categorical conditions. This view has been challenged by evidence that many disorders are sequentially comorbid, recurrent/chronic, and exist on a continuum. Using the Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Study, we examined the structure of psychopathology, taking into account dimensionality, persistence, co-occurrence, and sequential comorbidity of mental disorders across 20 years, from adolescence to midlife. Psychiatric disorders were initially explained by three higher-order factors (Internalizing, Externalizing, and Thought Disorder) but explained even better with one General Psychopathology dimension. We have called this dimension the p factor because it conceptually parallels a familiar dimension in psychological science: the g factor of general intelligence. Higher p scores are associated with more life impairment, greater familiality, worse developmental histories, and more compromised early-life brain function. The p factor explains why it is challenging to find causes, consequences, biomarkers, and treatments with specificity to individual mental disorders. Transdiagnostic approaches may improve research.
Pseudothrombus of the Aorta
Authors: Dobrocky Tomas , Stranzinger Enno
Published: August 2013

The purpose of this study is to demonstrate a common ultrasound artifact of the abdominal aorta in pediatric patients through a retrospective analysis of 150 consecutive pediatric abdominal ultrasound examinations. The presence of an aortic pseudomass was evaluated at the level of the celiac trunk and superior mesenteric artery (SMA). An artifact within the aorta at the level of the SMA was noted in 39 patients (26%) and an artifact at the level of the celiac trunk was noted in 4 patient (3%). In 7 of 8 cases the artifact at the level of the SMA was eliminated by use of the Clarify™ Vascular Enhancement (VE) Technology. A pseudomass of the aorta is a common artifact in pediatric abdominal ultrasound examinations. Changing the position of the transducer or utilizing the Clarify Vascular Enhancement Technology may help differentiate between a pseudomass and a thrombus and prevent further costly diagnostic work-up.
Mechanical and corrosion properties of TaN coatings by N2/Ar flow ratio processes
Authors: Ji X , Zhou X Y , Teng J Y , Mi Y M , Zhang C M
Published: August 2013

To optimise the performance of silicon diffusion barriers, TaN coatings were deposited through reactive magnetron sputtering at various N2/Ar flow ratios (4, 8, 12, 18 and 24%). The effects of the flow ratios on the structures, morphologies, corrosion and mechanical properties of the coatings were investigated in detail. The results show that the flow ratios had strong effects on the phase transformations from cubic to hexagonal phases in the coatings. Furthermore, the results of the morphology study indicated that the flow ratio was a vital parameter in determining the grain growth and the formation of TaN nanoparticles. Finally, the best improvement in corrosion and mechanical properties was found in the coating at 24%, which could be due to the occurrence of phase change and nanosized particles.
Microstructural characterisation of laser surface treated AISI 1040 steel with portable X-ray stress analyzer
Authors: Ganesh P , Kumar H , Kaul R , Kukreja L M
Published: August 2013

An experimental study was performed for non-destructive microstructural characterisation of laser surface treated AISI 1040 steel specimens with a portable X-ray diffraction based residual stress analysis system. Laser treated specimens were characterised by residual stress and (211) ferrite peak width measurements, and results were compared with those obtained by optical microscopy. The techniques were sensitive enough to distinguish four different cases arising during laser surface treatment, namely, no transformation hardening, insufficient hardening, adequate transformation hardening and surface melting. On the laser treated surface, the extents of laser melted zone and various microstructural zones of solid state transformation hardened region could be clearly identified. Although both the techniques provided fair estimate of total width of laser treated region, ferrite peak width is a more sensitive parameter to record microstructural transitions involving change in tetragonality of martensite. The technique has a potential for in situ microstructural analysis of ferritic steel weldments.
Distribution of residual stress fields in TC6 blade by LSP
Authors: Fang Y W , Zhao S H , Wang Y , Sun J , Li P Y
Published: August 2013

The aim was to analyse distribution rule of residual stress fields in a TC6 titanium alloy blade with multiple impacts and different spot overlapping ratios by comparing the numerical simulation and laser shock processing (LSP) experiments results. A dynamic model based on the finite element method was presented to simulate multiple impacts and different spot overlapping ratios by single sided LSP with round laser spot, and the distribution rule of residual stress fields based on different process condition was described. Further, LSP experiments of multiple impacts and different spot overlapping ratios were executed to compare the simulation results by measuring and fractographic observation. The results indicated that simulated values were reasonable with experimental values, and the compressive residual stresses were greatly increased and driven deeper below the blade surface with multiple impacts and high spot overlapping ratios on the same spot.
Nasally administered Lactobacillus rhamnosus strains differentially modulate respiratory antiviral immune responses and induce protection against respiratory syncytial virus infection
Authors: Tomosada Yohsuke , Chiba Eriko , Zelaya Hortensia , Takahashi Takuya , Tsukida Kohichiro , Kitazawa Haruki , Alvarez Susana , Villena Julio
Published: August 2013

Background

Some studies have shown that nasally administered immunobiotics had the potential to improve the outcome of influenza virus infection. However, the capacity of immunobiotics to improve protection against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection was not investigated before.

Objective

The aims of this study were: a) to evaluate whether the nasal administration of Lactobacillus rhamnosus CRL1505 (Lr05) and L. rhamnosus CRL1506 (Lr06) are able to improve respiratory antiviral defenses and beneficially modulate the immune response triggered by TLR3/RIG-I activation; b) to investigate whether viability of Lr05 or Lr06 is indispensable to modulate respiratory immunity and; c) to evaluate the capacity of Lr05 and Lr06 to improve the resistance of infant mice against RSV infection.

Results

Nasally administered Lr05 and Lr06 differentially modulated the TLR3/RIG-I-triggered antiviral respiratory immune response. Lr06 administration significantly modulated the production of IFN-α, IFN-β and IL-6 in the response to poly(I:C) challenge, while nasal priming with Lr05 was more effective to improve levels of IFN-γ and IL-10. Both viable Lr05 and Lr06 strains increased the resistance of infant mice to RSV infection while only heat-killed Lr05 showed a protective effect similar to those observed with viable strains.

Conclusions

The present work demonstrated that nasal administration of immunobiotics is able to beneficially modulate the immune response triggered by TLR3/RIG-I activation in the respiratory tract and to increase the resistance of mice to the challenge with RSV. Comparative studies using two Lactobacillus rhamnosus strains of the same origin and with similar technological properties showed that each strain has an specific immunoregulatory effect in the respiratory tract and that they differentially modulate the immune response after poly(I:C) or RSV challenges, conferring different degree of protection and using distinct immune mechanisms. We also demonstrated in this work that it is possible to beneficially modulate the respiratory defenses against RSV by using heat-killed immunobiotics.
Accuracy of endoscopic diagnosis of Helicobacter pyloriinfection according to level of endoscopic experience and the effect of training
Authors: Watanabe Kazuhiro , Nagata Naoyoshi , Shimbo Takuro , Nakashima Ryo , Furuhata Etsuko , Sakurai Toshiyuki , Akazawa Naoki , Yokoi Chizu , Kobayakawa Masao , Akiyama Junichi , Mizokami Masashi , Uemura Naomi
Published: August 2013

Background

Accurate prediction of Helicobacter pylori infection status on endoscopic images can contribute to early detection of gastric cancer, especially in Asia. We identified the diagnostic yield of endoscopy for H. pylori infection at various endoscopist career levels and the effect of two years of training on diagnostic yield.

Methods

A total of 77 consecutive patients who underwent endoscopy were analyzed. H. pylori infection status was determined by histology, serology, and the urea breast test and categorized as H. pylori-uninfected, -infected, or -eradicated. Distinctive endoscopic findings were judged by six physicians at different career levels: beginner (<500 endoscopies), intermediate (1500–5000), and advanced (>5000). Diagnostic yield and inter- and intra-observer agreement on H. pylori infection status were evaluated. Values were compared between the two beginners after two years of training. The kappa (K) statistic was used to calculate agreement.

Results

For all physicians, the diagnostic yield was 88.9% for H. pylori-uninfected, 62.1% for H. pylori-infected, and 55.8% for H. pylori-eradicated. Intra-observer agreement for H. pylori infection status was good (K > 0.6) for all physicians, while inter-observer agreement was lower (K = 0.46) for beginners than for intermediate and advanced (K > 0.6). For all physicians, good inter-observer agreement in endoscopic findings was seen for atrophic change (K = 0.69), regular arrangement of collecting venules (K = 0.63), and hemorrhage (K = 0.62). For beginners, the diagnostic yield of H. pylori-infected/eradicated status and inter-observer agreement of endoscopic findings were improved after two years of training.

Conclusions

The diagnostic yield of endoscopic diagnosis was high for H. pylori-uninfected cases, but was low for H. pylori-eradicated cases. In beginners, daily training on endoscopic findings improved the low diagnostic yield.
Public acceptability of government intervention to change health-related behaviours: a systematic review and narrative synthesis
Authors: Diepeveen Stephanie , Ling Tom , Suhrcke Marc , Roland Martin , Marteau Theresa M
Published: August 2013

Background

Governments can intervene to change health-related behaviours using various measures but are sensitive to public attitudes towards such interventions. This review describes public attitudes towards a range of policy interventions aimed at changing tobacco and alcohol use, diet, and physical activity, and the extent to which these attitudes vary with characteristics of (a) the targeted behaviour (b) the intervention and (c) the respondents.

Methods

We searched electronic databases and conducted a narrative synthesis of empirical studies that reported public attitudes in Europe, North America, Australia and New Zealand towards interventions relating to tobacco, alcohol, diet and physical activity. Two hundred studies met the inclusion criteria.

Results

Over half the studies (105/200, 53%) were conducted in North America, with the most common interventions relating to tobacco control (110/200, 55%), followed by alcohol (42/200, 21%), diet-related interventions (18/200, 9%), interventions targeting both diet and physical activity (18/200, 9%), and physical activity alone (3/200, 2%). Most studies used survey-based methods (160/200, 80%), and only ten used experimental designs.

Acceptability varied as a function of: (a) the targeted behaviour, with more support observed for smoking-related interventions; (b) the type of intervention, with less intrusive interventions, those already implemented, and those targeting children and young people attracting most support; and (c) the characteristics of respondents, with support being highest in those not engaging in the targeted behaviour, and with women and older respondents being more likely to endorse more restrictive measures.

Conclusions

Public acceptability of government interventions to change behaviour is greatest for the least intrusive interventions, which are often the least effective, and for interventions targeting the behaviour of others, rather than the respondent him or herself. Experimental studies are needed to assess how the presentation of the problem and the benefits of intervention might increase acceptability for those interventions which are more effective but currently less acceptable.
Schoolyard physical activity of 6–11 year old children assessed by GPS and accelerometry
Authors: Dessing Dirk , Pierik Frank H , Sterkenburg Reinier P , van Dommelen Paula , Maas Jolanda , de Vries Sanne I
Published: August 2013

Background

Children’s current physical activity levels are disturbingly low when compared to recommended levels. This may be changed by intervening in the school environment. However, at present, it is unclear to what extent schoolyard physical activity contributes towards reaching the daily physical activity guideline. The aim of this study was to examine how long and at what intensity children are physically active at the schoolyard during different time segments of the day. Moreover, the contribution of schoolyard physical activity towards achieving the recommended guideline for daily physical activity was investigated.

Methods

Children (n=76) between the age of 6–11 years were recruited in six different schools in five cities (>70.000 residents) in the Netherlands. During the weekdays of a regular school week, childrens’ physical activity and location were measured with ActiGraph accelerometers and Travelrecorder GPS receivers. Data was collected from December 2008 to April 2009. From the data, the amount of moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) on and outside the schoolyard was established. Moreover, the percentage of MVPA on the schoolyard was compared between the following segments of the day: pre-school, school, school recess, lunch break and post-school. Differences between boys and girls were compared using linear and logistic mixed-effects models.

Results

On average, children spent 40.1 minutes/day on the schoolyard. During this time, boys were more active on the schoolyard, with 27.3% of their time spent as MVPA compared to 16.7% among girls (OR=2.11 [95% CI 1.54 - 2.90]). The children were most active on the schoolyard during school recess, during which boys recorded 39.5% and girls recorded 23.4% of the time as MVPA (OR=2.55 [95% CI: 1.69 - 3.85]). Although children were only present at the schoolyard for 6.1% of the total reported time, this time contributed towards 17.5% and 16.8% of boys’ and girls’ minutes of MVPA.

Conclusions

On the schoolyard, children’s physical activity levels are higher than on average over the whole day. Physical activity levels are particularly high during school recess. The school environment seems to be an important setting for improving children’s physical activity levels. Further research on the facilitators of these high activity levels may provide targets for further promotion of physical activity among children.
Screening in silico predicted remotely acting NF1gene regulatory elements for mutations in patients with neurofibromatosis type 1
Authors: Hamby Stephen E , Reviriego Pablo , Cooper David N , Upadhyaya Meena , Chuzhanova Nadia
Published: August 2013

Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1), a neuroectodermal disorder, is caused by germline mutations in the NF1 gene. NF1 affects approximately 1/3,000 individuals worldwide, with about 50% of cases representing de novo mutations. Although the NF1 gene was identified in 1990, the underlying gene mutations still remain undetected in a small but obdurate minority of NF1 patients. We postulated that in these patients, hitherto undetected pathogenic mutations might occur in regulatory elements far upstream of the NF1 gene. In an attempt to identify such remotely acting regulatory elements, we reasoned that some of them might reside within DNA sequences that (1) have the potential to interact at distance with the NF1 gene and (2) lie within a histone H3K27ac-enriched region, a characteristic of active enhancers. Combining Hi-C data, obtained by means of the chromosome conformation capture technique, with data on the location and level of histone H3K27ac enrichment upstream of the NF1 gene, we predicted in silico the presence of two remotely acting regulatory regions, located, respectively, approximately 600 kb and approximately 42 kb upstream of the NF1 gene. These regions were then sequenced in 47 NF1 patients in whom no mutations had been found in either the NF1 or SPRED1 gene regions. Five patients were found to harbour DNA sequence variants in the distal H3K27ac-enriched region. Although these variants are of uncertain pathological significance and still remain to be functionally characterized, this approach promises to be of general utility for the detection of mutations underlying other inherited disorders that may be caused by mutations in remotely acting regulatory elements.
CyclinD1, a prominent prognostic marker for endometrial diseases
Authors: Liang Shuo , Mu Kun , Wang Yan , Zhou Zhiqiang , Zhang Juan , Sheng Yan , Zhang Tingguo
Published: August 2013

Purpose

Alteration of CyclinD1 was suggested to relate with development of endometrial carcinogenesis before, however CyclinD1 expression is not well defined in endometrial hyperplasia lesions. We checked the relationship between its expression and clinic-pathological variables of endometrial lesions to explore the possibility for CyclinD1 as a potential diagnostic and prognostic marker.

Methods

Cyclin D1 immunohistochemical analysis (IHC) was used to evaluate 201 fixed, paraffin-embedded endometrial samples which included simple hyperplasia (n = 27), atypical complex hyperplasia (ACH) (n = 41), endometrioid carcinoma (n = 103), endometrial serous carcinoma (ESC) (n = 21) and clear cell carcinoma (CCC) (n = 9). A breast cancer with known CyclinD1 expression was selected as a positive control in each immunohistochemistry run. We also performed follow-up study to estimate patients’ prognosis.

Results

CyclinD1 was significantly overexpressed in atypical complex hyperplasia (ACH), endometrioid carcinoma and clear cell carcinoma (CCC). The positive signaling of CyclinD1 was showed less than 40% in simple hyperplasia and endometrial serous carcinoma (ESC). The high expression of CyclinD1 was observed in metastasis carcinoma group more significantly than non-metastasis carcinoma group. Kaplan Meier analysis demonstrated that patients with high CyclinD1 expression had an obviously poor prognosis than patients without CyclinD1 staining (p < 0.05). Moreover, according to multivariate Cox regression analysis, CyclinD1 expression, as crucial as metastasis, was a risk marker for overall survival rate.

Conclusion

CyclinD1 exhibited a promising potential to predict the prognosis of patients with endometrial carcinoma. However, the statistical analysis demonstrated that CyclinD1 exhibited a poor ability to differentiate neoplastic lesions from non-neoplastic lesions; thus, the application of CyclinD1 only is not so credible for differentiation between benign and malignant lesions.

Virtual slides

The virtual slides for this article can be found here: http://www.diagnosticpathology.diagnomx.eu/vs/1871063048950173.
Stability properties of PrPScfrom cattle with experimental transmissible spongiform encephalopathies: use of a rapid whole homogenate, protease-free assay
Authors: Vrentas Catherine E , Greenlee Justin J , Baron Thierry , Caramelli Maria , Czub Stefanie , Nicholson Eric M
Published: August 2013

Background

Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies (TSEs), including scrapie in sheep, chronic wasting disease (CWD) in cervids, transmissible mink encephalopathy (TME), and bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), are fatal diseases of the nervous system associated with accumulation of misfolded prion protein (PrPSc). Different strains of TSEs exist, associated with different PrPSc conformations that can be probed by the stability assay, in which PrPSc is treated with increasing concentrations of the denaturant guanidine hydrochloride (GdnHCl).

Results

Here, we provide the first comprehensive application of a rapid, protease-free version of the GdnHCl stability assay to brain tissue from cattle experimentally infected with various TSE isolates. Consistent with previous findings from a single Japanese isolate, the L-type isolates of BSE are not distinguishable from classical BSE in this assay. In contrast, H-type isolates of BSE, including our unique isolate of E211K BSE, exhibit higher stability than classical BSE, suggesting that its increased protection against protease digestion at the BSE N-terminus is associated with a higher stability in GdnHCl. While the difference in stability in our version of the assay is likely not large enough for effective use in a diagnostic laboratory setting, the use of alternative experimental conditions may enhance this effect. TSEs from other natural host species that have been passaged in cattle, including CWD and TME, were not distinguishable from classical BSE, while isolates of cattle passaged scrapie exhibited a slight increase in stability as compared to classical BSE.

Conclusions

These results suggest that the core of PrPSc, as probed in this assay, has similar stability properties among cattle-passaged TSE isolates and that the conformational differences that lead to changes in the proteinase K cleavage site do not cause large changes in the stability of PrPSc from TSE-affected cattle. However, the stability differences observed here will provide a basis of comparison for new isolates of atypical BSE observed in the future and in other geographic locations, especially in the case of H-type BSE.
New network topology approaches reveal differential correlation patterns in breast cancer
Authors: Bockmayr Michael , Klauschen Frederick , Györffy Balazs , Denkert Carsten , Budczies Jan
Published: August 2013

Background

Analysis of genome-wide data is often carried out using standard methods such as differential expression analysis, clustering analysis and heatmaps. Beyond that, differential correlation analysis was suggested to identify changes in the correlation patterns between disease states. The detection of differential correlation is a demanding task, as the number of entries in the gene-by-gene correlation matrix is large. Currently, there is no gold standard for the detection of differential correlation and statistical validation.

Results

We developed two untargeted algorithms ( and ) that identify differential correlation patterns by comparing the local or global topology of correlation networks. Construction of networks from correlation structures requires fixing of a correlation threshold. Instead of a single cutoff, the algorithms systematically investigate a series of correlation thresholds and permit to detect different kinds of correlation changes at the same level of significance: strong changes of a few genes and moderate changes of many genes. Comparing the correlation structure of 208 ER- breast carcinomas and 208 ER+ breast carcinomas, detected 770 differentially correlated genes with a FDR of 12.8%, while detected 630 differentially correlated genes with a FDR of 12.1%. In two-fold cross-validation, the reproducibility of the list of the top 5% differentially correlated genes in 140 ER- tumors and in 140 ER+ tumors was 49% for and 33% for .

Conclusions

We developed two correlation network topology based algorithms for the detection of differential correlations in different disease states. Clusters of differentially correlated genes could be interpreted biologically and included the marker genes hydroxyprostaglandin dehydrogenase (PGDH) and acyl-CoA synthetase medium chain 1 (ACSM1) of invasive apocrine carcinomas that were differentially correlated, but not differentially expressed. Using random subsampling and cross-validation, and were shown to identify specific and reproducible lists of differentially correlated genes.
Genetic analysis of an elite super-hybrid rice parent using high-density SNP markers
Authors: Duan Meijuan , Sun Zhizhong , Shu Liping , Tan Yanning , Yu Dong , Sun Xuewu , Liu Ruifen , Li Yujie , Gong Siyu , Yuan Dingyang
Published: August 2013

Background

With an increasing world population and a gradual decline in the amount of arable land, food security remains a global challenge. Continued increases in rice yield will be required to break through the barriers to grain output. In order to transition from hybrid rice to super-hybrid rice, breeding demands cannot be addressed through traditional heterosis. Therefore, it is necessary to incorporate high yield loci from other rice genetic groups and to scientifically utilize intersubspecific heterosis in breeding lines. In this study, 781 lines from a segregating F2 population constructed by crossing the indica variety, “Giant Spike Rice” R1128 as trait donor with the japonica cultivar ‘Nipponbare’, were re-sequenced using high-throughout multiplexed shotgun genotyping (MSG) technology. In combination with high-density single nucleotide polymorphisms, quantitative trait locus (QTL) mapping and genetic effect analysis were performed for five yield factors (spikelet number per panicle, primary branches per panicle, secondary branches per panicle, plant height, and panicle length) to explore the genetic mechanisms underlying the formation of the giant panicle of R1128. Also, they were preformed to locate new high-yielding rice genetic intervals, providing data for super-high-yielding rice breeding.

Results

QTL mapping and genetic effect analysis for five yield factors in the population gave the following results: 49 QTLs for the five yield factors were distributed on 11 of 12 chromosomes. The super-hybrid line R1128 carries multiple major genes for good traits, including Sd1 for plant height, Hd1 and Ehd1 for heading date, Gn1a for spikelet number and IPA1 for ideal plant shape. These genes accounted for 44.3%, 21.9%, 6.2%, 12.9% and 10.6% of the phenotypic variation in the individual traits. Six novel QTLs, qph1-2, qph9-1, qpl12-1, qgn3-1, qgn11-1 and qsbn11-1 are reported here for the first time.

Conclusions

High-throughout sequencing technology makes it convenient to study rice genomics and makes the QTL/gene mapping direct, efficient, and more reliable. The genetic regions discovered in this study will be valuable for breeding in rice varieties because of the diverse genetic backgrounds of the rice.
Ring testing of the AnBUSDiC test; a new screening method for the anaerobic degradability of surfactants
Authors: Eadsforth Charles , Austin Tom , Bouvy Alain , Cassani Giorgio , DeFerrer Juanantonio , Hager Claus-Dierk , Schowanek Diederik , Taeger Klaus , Willing Andreas
Published: August 2013

Background

Surfactants are widely used across the globe both in industrial and consumer products; their biodegradation characteristics are therefore of high importance. Upon entering a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP), the majority of surfactants are aerobically mineralized to CO2 and H2O. However, a small fraction is inevitably left non-degraded and adheres to the remaining sludge. This sludge is usually further treated in anaerobic digester tanks. Assessment of existing methods for determining anaerobic biodegradability has led to the development of a new test method, which is in principle based on the method DIN 38414 part 8. This new test, named the anaerobic biodegradation under sludge digester conditions test (abbreviated to AnBUSDiC test) allows for a quantification of the degradation of surfactants under conditions encountered in the anaerobic digester tank of municipal WWTPs. The AnBUSDiC test has several advantages over existing methods. The main advantage is that it is particularly suitable for surfactants, because the two-step design minimizes possible unspecific digester gas formation caused by the surface activity of the test substances, therefore avoiding false positive results.

Results

In order to further standardize the AnBUSDiC test and gain regulatory acceptance, a ring test was organized involving seven laboratories, and five model surfactants from different surfactant classes (anionic, non-ionic (branched and linear) and amphoteric) plus a positive control, glucose. The AnBUSDiC test produced reliable repeatable results between laboratories; however, some additional modifications were suggested. It was identified that the original test method did not identify a clear endpoint from which a biodegradation value should be taken. It was proposed that a new more concise endpoint be defined in combination with the AnBUSDiC test to allow better comparability between test results.

Conclusions

The inclusion of a second addition of test substance is a major step forward in the elimination of the variability produced by non-specific gas production. With the exception of one anomalous result for linear alkylbenzene sulfonates, for which an explanation can be provided, the AnBUSDiC method appears to provide overall robust and interpretable results.
Reticence and the Fuzziness of Thresholds
Authors: Beasley-Murray Tim
Published: August 2013

This article discusses implicit conceptions of reticence in the early philosophical writings of Mikhail Bakhtin. Contrary to the image of Bakhtin as a thinker of dialogue, polyphony, and voice, it finds a strand in Bakhtin's thought that suggests that there might be good reasons for remaining silent and not stepping into the world in speech: in reticence, the human being avoids both judgment and being judged, eludes the risk of the addressee's absence or unreliability, and resists the finality of utterance that shares in the finality of death. This essay makes a case for a Bakhtinian apology for quietism and seeks to contribute to recent work in Common Knowledge on that subject. Bakhtin's conception of reticence is usefully understood with reference to threshold situations: in withholding a future word, a human being hovers on the borders of nonbeing and being, on the borders of the present, future, and past. In this sense, reticence is allied to conceptions of fuzziness and blur that have also been concerns of this journal in recent years. In making these claims, the essay relates Bakhtin's thought to a Russian literary tradition of thinking about silence (Tiutchev's and Mandelstam's Silentium poems), as well as to a more broadly European intellectual context (Arendt and Heidegger, for example), where thinkers understand being in terms of becoming and understand disclosure through speech.
Is Yoga Hindu?
Authors: Nicholson Andrew J.
Published: August 2013

This contribution to the Common Knowledge symposium “Fuzzy Studies” explores the boundaries between religions by exploring the ambiguous place of yoga in various religious traditions, both modern and premodern. Recently, certain Hindus and Christians have tried to argue that yoga is an essentially Hindu practice, making their case by appealing to the Yoga Sutras, a text by the Sanskrit author Patanjali. However, on closer examination, the Yoga Sutras seem to exist in a fuzzy, indeterminate space that is not quite “Hindu” in the way the word is understood today. For instance, other Sanskrit authors of the first millennium CE criticized Patanjali's yoga teachings for not being properly theistic and for having strong affinities to Buddhism and Jainism. Yoga was also integrated into at least one of the “religions of the book” in the medieval period: in India in the second millennium, yoga was practiced widely among Sufis, who adapted it in surprising and idiosyncratic ways to make it compatible with their own Islamic philosophies. Nicholson concludes with an appeal for a more nuanced understanding of religious contact that goes beyond the pejorative term syncretism to acknowledge that religious mixing has been a central force in the development not only of Hinduism and Islam, but also of Christianity.
Frizzly Studies
Authors: Sharfstein Daniel J.
Published: August 2013

Beginning with the assumption that race is a conceptual blur, this contribution to the Common Knowledge symposium “Fuzzy Studies” argues that race conflates what is plain to see with something that is invisible. Race roots today's policy decisions in a remote and often imagined past. It blurs agency and overwhelming structural inequality. It is a set of categories that people define for themselves and that, at the same time, others — strangers, neighbors, government officials — relentlessly impose upon them. For four hundred years, the meaning of racial categories in North America has remained unstable. A central question underlying the history of race in the United States is how people could acknowledge the incoherence of racial categories while still structuring their lives, communities, politics, and culture around the idea of race. At a fundamental level, race has functioned as a set of rules and rights—and legal entitlements and disabilities are a primary source of meaning for racial categories. The law provides a starting point for understanding how there could be so much consensus regarding such a blur. Legal decision making is itself a process that blurs what is objective and subjective, scientific and social, precise and penumbral. Taken together, the pervasive fuzziness of race and law ensured the resilience of clear and definable regimes of discrimination and hierarchy.
CENTRAL EUROPE — BETWEEN PRESENCE AND ABSENCE
Authors: Gafijczuk Dariusz
Published: August 2013

This contribution to the Common Knowledge symposium “Fuzzy Studies” considers how the ultramodernist aesthetics of Central Europe has related to and reacted against the region's political history and cartography. Central Europe has been a rich source of “soluble” realities that can be observed as they emerge, mature, and rapidly decay. Central European modernism, represented here by Adolf Loos in architecture and by Arnold Schoenberg and Leoš Janáček in music, experimented with blurry regions between presence and absence, light and shadow, sound and silence. Loos disrupted the logic of architecture, while Schoenberg and Janáček nearly dissolved the acoustic paradigm of sound. This essay argues that the curious positioning of Central Europe, with its frequently changing borders and national entities, conduced both to positive experiments in cultural vagueness and to a corrosive reaction against existing and potential identities, parameters, distinctions, foci, and logics.
Hedgehog signaling regulates prosensory cell properties during the basal-to-apical wave of hair cell differentiation in the mammalian cochlea
Authors: Tateya Tomoko , Imayoshi Itaru , Tateya Ichiro , Hamaguchi Kiyomi , Torii Hiroko , Ito Juichi , Kageyama Ryoichiro
Published: August 2013

Mechanosensory hair cells and supporting cells develop from common precursors located in the prosensory domain of the developing cochlear epithelium. Prosensory cell differentiation into hair cells or supporting cells proceeds from the basal to the apical region of the cochleae, but the mechanism and significance of this basal-to-apical wave of differentiation remain to be elucidated. Here, we investigated the role of Hedgehog (Hh) signaling in cochlear development by examining the effects of up- and downregulation of Hh signaling in vivo. The Hh effector smoothened (Smo) was genetically activated or inactivated specifically in the developing cochlear epithelium after prosensory domain formation. Cochleae expressing a constitutively active allele of Smo showed only one row of inner hair cells with no outer hair cells (OHCs); abnormal undifferentiated prosensory-like cells were present in the lateral compartment instead of OHCs and their adjacent supporting cells. This suggests that Hh signaling inhibits prosensory cell differentiation into hair cells or supporting cells and maintains their properties as prosensory cells. Conversely, in cochlea with the Smo conditional knockout (Smo CKO), hair cell differentiation was preferentially accelerated in the apical region. Smo CKO mice survived after birth, and exhibited hair cell disarrangement in the apical region, a decrease in hair cell number, and hearing impairment. These results indicate that Hh signaling delays hair cell and supporting cell differentiation in the apical region, which forms the basal-to-apical wave of development, and is required for the proper differentiation, arrangement and survival of hair cells and for hearing ability.