bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Expression Level of mRNA, Protein, and DNA Methylation Status of FOSL2 of Uyghur in XinJiang in Type 2 Diabetes
Authors: Li Jun , Li Siyuan , Hu Ying , Cao Guolei , Wang Siyao , Rai Partab , Wang Xiaoli , Sun Kan
Published: December 2016

Objective. We investigated the expression levels of both FOSL2 mRNA and protein as well as evaluating DNA methylation in the blood of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) Uyghur patients from Xinjiang. This study also evaluated whether FOSL2 gene expression had demonstrated any associations with clinical and biochemical indicators of T2DM. Methods. One hundred Uyghur subjects where divided into two groups, T2DM and nonimpaired glucose tolerance (NGT) groups. DNA methylation of FOSL2 was also analyzed by MassARRAY Spectrometry and methylation data of individual units were generated by the EpiTyper v1.0.5 software. The expression levels of FOS-like antigen 2 (FOSL2) and the protein expression levels were analyzed. Results. Significant differences were observed in mRNA and protein levels when compared with the NGT group, while methylation rates of eight CpG units within the FOSL2 gene were higher in the T2DM group. Methylation of CpG sites was found to inversely correlate with expression of other markers. Conclusions. Results show that a correlation between mRNA, protein, and DNA methylation of FOSL2 gene exists among T2DM patients from Uyghur. FOSL2 protein and mRNA were downregulated and the DNA became hypermethylated, all of which may be involved in T2DM pathogenesis in this population.
Experimental Investigation of the Relationship between the P-Wave Velocity and the Mechanical Properties of Damaged Sandstone
Authors: Ding Qi-Le , Song Shuai-Bing
Published: December 2016

To obtain an improved and more accurate understanding of the relationship between the P-wave velocity and the mechanical properties of damaged sandstone, uniaxial compression tests were performed on sandstone subjected to different high-temperature treatments or freeze-thaw (F-T) cycles. After high-temperature treatment, the tests showed a generally positive relationship between the P-wave velocity and mechanical characteristics, although there were many exceptions. The mechanical properties showed significant differences for a given P-wave velocity. Based on the mechanical tests after the F-T cycles, the mechanical properties and P-wave velocities exhibited different trends. The UCS and Young’s modulus values slightly decreased after 30, 40, and 50 cycles, whereas both an increase and a decrease occurred in the P-wave velocity. The UCS, Young’s modulus, and P-wave velocity represent different macrobehaviors of rock properties. A statistical relationship exists between the P-wave velocity and mechanical properties, such as the UCS and Young’s modulus, but no mechanical relationship exists. Further attention should be given to using the P-wave velocity to estimate and predict the mechanical properties of rock.
Influence of Voice Focus on Oral-Nasal Balance in Speakers of Brazilian Portuguese
Authors: de Boer Gillian , Marino Viviane Cristina de Castro , Berti Larissa Cristina , Fabron Eliana Maria Gradim , Bressmann Tim
Published: December 2016

Objectives: This study investigates whether a change in speaking voice focus affects the oral-nasal balance. The investigation was undertaken with different phonetic materials in speakers of Brazilian Portuguese, which features phonological and phonetic vowel nasalization. Methods: Ten females read oral, balanced oral-nasal, and nasal loaded sentences in their normal voice, and with a backward focus and a forward focus. Nasalance scores were collected with a Nasometer 6400. Results: A repeated measures ANOVA of the nasalance scores demonstrated a significant main effect of speaking condition (F(2, 18) = 12.87, p < 0.001). The mean nasalance scores across the stimuli in the backward focus and normal speaking conditions were 36.85% (SD 16.85) and 40.18% (SD 18.02), respectively, both significantly lower than the forward focus condition at 45.38% (SD 18.90). Conclusion: The results demonstrated that speaking focus influences oral-nasal balance in normal speakers. In future research, it should be investigated whether voice focus can also modify oral-nasal balance in hypernasal speakers with cleft palate and other disorders.
Optimal Role of the Nephrologist in the Intensive Care Unit
Authors: Askenazi D.J. , Heung Michael , Connor Jr. Michael J. , Basu Rajit K. , Cerdá Jorge , Doi Kent , Koyner Jay L. , Bihorac Azra , Golestaneh Ladan , Vijayan Anitha , Okusa Mark D. , Faubel Sarah ,   on behalf of the American Society of Nephrology Acute Kidney Injury Advisory Group
Published: December 2016

As advances in Critical Care Medicine continue, critically ill patients are surviving despite the severity of their illness. The incidence of acute kidney injury (AKI) has increased, and its impact on clinical outcomes as well as medical expenditures has been established. The role, indications and technological advancements of renal replacement therapy (RRT) have evolved, allowing more effective therapies with less complications. With these changes, Critical Care Nephrology has become an established specialty, and ongoing collaborations between critical care physicians and nephrologist have improved education of multi-disciplinary team members and patient care in the ICU. Multidisciplinary programs to support these changes have been stablished in some hospitals to maximize the delivery of care, while other programs have continue to struggle in their ability to acquire the necessary resources to maximize outcomes, educate their staff, and develop quality initiatives to evaluate and drive improvements. Clearly, the role of the nephrologist in the ICU has evolved, and varies widely among institutions. This special article will provide insights that will hopefully optimize the role of the nephrologist as the leader of the acute care nephrology program, as clinician for critically ill patients, and as teacher for all members of the health care team.
Transient Receptor Potential Vanilloid-1 Channels Contribute to the Regulation of Acid- and Base-Induced Vasomotor Responses
Authors: Ivic Ivan , Solymar Margit , Pakai Eszter , Rumbus Zoltan , Pinter Erika , Koller Akos , Garami Andras
Published: December 2016

pH changes can influence local blood flow, but the mechanisms of how acids and bases affect vascular tone is not fully clarified. Transient receptor potential vanilloid-1 (TRPV1) channels are expressed in vessels and can be activated by pH alterations. Thus, we hypothesized that TRPV1 channels are involved in the mediation of vascular responses to acid-base changes. Vasomotor responses to HCl, NaOH, and capsaicin were measured in isolated murine carotid and tail skin arteries. The function of TRPV1 was blocked by either of three approaches: Trpv1 gene disruption, pharmacological blockade with a TRPV1 antagonist (BCTC), and functional impairment of mainly neural TRPV1 channels (desensitization). In each artery type of control mice, HCl caused relaxation but NaOH contraction, and both responses were augmented after genetic or pharmacological TRPV1 blockade. In arteries of TRPV1-desensitized mice, HCl-induced relaxation did not differ from controls, whereas NaOH-induced contraction was augmented. All three types of TRPV1 blockade had more pronounced effects in carotid than in tail skin arteries. We conclude that TRPV1 channels limit the vasomotor responses to changes in pH. While base-induced arterial contraction is regulated primarily by neural TRPV1 channels, acid-induced arterial relaxation is modulated by TRPV1 channels located on nonneural vascular structures.
Intestinal Pneumatosis Associated with Tuberculosis after Allogeneic Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation
Authors: Venkataramani Vivek , Seif Amir Hosseini Ali , Schulze Marco H. , Trümper Lorenz , Wulf Gerald , Bacher Ulrike , Jung Wolfram
Published: December 2016

Pneumatosis intestinalis (PI), defined as intestinal intra- and extramural gas accumulation, is a rare radiographic finding in conditions of intestinal wall damage of varied etiology. Here, we report on a 56-year-old female with multiple myeloma who presented with undulating fever, fluctuating abdominal symptoms, and a distended abdomen 5 months after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). Abdominal X-ray and CT scan documented PI with gas accumulation both in the intestinal and colonic bowel walls. Concurrently, thoracic CT revealed mediastinal and bihilar lymphadenopathy associated with bilateral pleural effusions. Microscopy of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) revealed acid-fast bacilli, which were identified as Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculostatic treatment resulted in timely clinical improvement, a complete clearance of the radiological and clinical findings of PI, and the control of the tuberculosis (Tbc), determined by multiple negative BALF results. Taken together, PI occurred as the initial symptom of Tbc in an allogeneic stem cell recipient, achieving complete recovery by tuberculostatic treatment only.
Congenital Absence of the Pericardium: A Systematic Approach to Diagnosis and Management
Authors: Xu Bo , Betancor Jorge , Asher Craig , Rosario Adriana , Klein Allan
Published: December 2016

Congenital absence of the pericardium (CAP) is a rare condition. Failure to recognize the clinical features of this condition can lead to incorrect and delayed diagnosis. Limited data are available regarding the optimal approach to diagnose and manage patients with suspected CAP. Due to the rare nature of CAP, this condition can present diagnostic and management dilemmas for clinicians. Using 3 cases of CAP as a framework, a clinically focused review on the diagnosis and management of CAP is presented. Clinicians will be provided with a systematic approach to evaluating patients with suspected CAP, incorporating key history, examination, and multimodality cardiovascular imaging investigations.
Feasibility and Acceptability of Anal Self-Sampling for Human Papillomavirus Screening in HIV-Infected Patients
Authors: Tamalet Catherine , Ravaux Isabelle , Dhiver Catherine , Menard Amelie , Colson Philippe , Stein Andreas
Published: December 2016

Objectives: Anal cancer incidence is increasing among HIV-positive patients. No consensus currently exists for the screening of anal dysplasia. This study aimed at evaluating the feasibility and acceptability of anal self-sampling and assessing the prevalence of human papillomavirus (HPV) types among HIV-positive patients from Marseille University Hospitals. Methods: Between October 2013 and March 2014, during their regular visits for the monitoring of their HIV infection in an HIV outpatient clinical unit of Marseille University Hospitals, patients were asked to self-sample anal swabs for HPV detection. A specimen self-collection kit was provided. HPV detection and genotyping were performed using in-house protocols. The quality of self-sampling was assessed by concurrent cellular quantification in collected samples. Results: The acceptability rate of anal self-sampling was 91%, and 91% of the self-sampled specimens were appropriate for HPV screening. In addition, 76% of the samples were positive for HPV, including 54% of HPV types with oncogenic potential. Conclusions: This study indicates that HPV detection and typing through anal self-sampling is a valuable strategy to screen patients at high risk for anal cancer development. This could allow earlier management of anal lesions and related cancer in patients at high risk for HPV.
Pediatric Primary Diffuse Leptomeningeal Primitive Neuroectodermal Tumor: A Case Report and Literature Review
Authors: Sublett Jesna Mathew , Davenport Caitlin , Eisenbrock Howard , Dalal Shamsher , Jaffar Kazmi Syed A. , Kershenovich Amir
Published: December 2016

Background: Primary diffuse leptomeningeal primitive neuroectodermal tumor (PDL PNET) is extremely rare, with only 19 cases reported in the literature to date. We present a case of a child with rapidly progressive PDL PNET and a literature review. A 10-year-old boy presented with mood lability, hallucinations, generalized pain, enuresis, and headaches. Initial investigation failed to produce a diagnosis. The symptoms progressed to seizure, back pain, and papilledema. Imaging showed acute hydrocephalus and mild diffuse leptomeningeal enhancement without an identifiable primary lesion. Methods: The hydrocephalus was managed with a ventriculostomy - later replaced by a ventriculoperitoneal shunt after ruling out infection. A dura mater biopsy obtained prior to shunt insertion was unrevealing. Repeat MRI at the 2-month follow-up showed severe interval progression of the leptomeningeal enhancement with thick lumbar spinal subdural enhancing areas. A biopsy from the inflamed arachnoid at the L3-L4 level unveiled a leptomeningeal PNET diagnosis. Results: Despite adjuvant therapy with chemoradiation, the disease progressed, and the patient died 22 months after the initial presentation. Nineteen other cases of PDL PNET have been reported in the literature and were analyzed. Conclusion: Primary leptomeningeal PNET is an extremely rare disease. Optimal treatment is not well established, and the prognosis is very poor.
AntimiR-30b Inhibits TNF-α Mediated Apoptosis and Attenuated Cartilage Degradation through Enhancing Autophagy
Authors: Chen Zhe , Jin Tao , Lu Yong
Published: December 2016

Objective: Cell death plays an important role in the pathology associated with inflammatory diseases such as osteoarthritis. It has been reported that autophagy can protect cells against tumour necrosis factor-α (TNF-α)-induced apoptosis. This study aimed to determine the potential role of microRNA-30b (miR-30b) in TNF-α-induced apoptosis, autophagy and differentiation in the chondrogenic ADTC5 cell line. Methods: To analyse the effect of TNF-α on the viability of ADTC5 cells, cell counting kit-8 and Hoechst 33342 staining were employed and the expression levels of caspase-3 and -9 were assessed. Autophagy was examined by analysing the levels of LC3B-II and p62 and quantitating GFP-LC3B by fluorescence microscopy. A luciferase reporter assay investigated the putative binding sites of miR-30b. The effects of miR-30b and antimiR-30b on autophagy, apoptosis and osteogenic differentiation of TNF-α-treated cells were determined by autophagosome, apoptosis and alkaline phosphatase assays, respectively. Results: TNF-α exposure decreased cell viability, increased apoptosis and positively regulated autophagy in ADTC5 cells. A direct interaction was detected between miR-30b and the mRNA 3ʹ-UTRs of autophagy genes BECN1 and ATG5. Overexpression of miR-30b downregulated autophagy genes and upregulated pro-apoptotic gene expression in TNF-α-treated cells, while treatment with antimiR-30b had the inverse effect. Overexpression of miR-30b also downregulated ECM degradation and anti-miR-30b reverse TNF-α-induced ECM degradation. Conclusions: Anti-miR-30b enhanced autophagy and attenuated cartilage degradation and played a protective role in TNF-α-induced apoptosis of ATDC5 cells. Anti-miR-30b may therefore elevate cellular survival during inflammation and has therapeutic potential for inflammatory diseases such as osteoarthritis.
CXCL12 Regulates the Cholinergic Locus and CHT1 Through Akt Signaling Pathway
Authors: Yan Jing , Zhao Wenhui , Guo Meixia , Han Xuefei , Feng Zhiwei
Published: December 2016

Background: CXCL12 is pivotal for cholinergic neurons, and it induces the expressions of several genes that are essential for synthesis and storage of acetylcholine(ACh), specifically choline acetyltransferase, vesicular ACh transporter (VAChT), and choline transporter. The present study explored the impact of pharmacological Akt inhibition upon cholinergic gene expression. Methods: Western blotting was employed to determine the level of p-AKT, RT-PCR to check the mRNA levels of and CHT1(choline transporter1),VAChT and ChAT, ELISA to decipher the secretion of ACh and the activity of choline acetyltransferase. Results: Here we demonstrated, in the rat pheochromocytoma cell line PC12 and in primary rat neuronal cultures, that CXCL12-evoked up-regulation of CHT1, VAChT and ChAT was mediated by Akt. Inhibition of Akt by the pharmacological inhibitor GSK690693 eliminated CXCL12-stimulated increases in cholinergic gene expression. Moreover, treatment with GSK690693 reversed CXCL12-evoked increases in choline acetyltransferase activity and ACh production. Conclusion: Our results suggest that CXCL12 contributes to cholinergic gene expression via Akt signaling pathway.
Prognostic Impact of the Timing of Recurrence of Infarct-Related Ventricular Tachycardia After Catheter Ablation
Authors: Siontis Konstantinos C. , Kim Hyungjin Myra , Stevenson William G. , Fujii Akira , Della Bella Paolo , Vergara Pasquale , Shivkumar Kalyanam , Tung Roderick , Do Duc H. , Daoud Emile G. , Okabe Toshimasa , Zeppenfeld Katja , de Riva Silva Marta , Hindricks Gerhard , Arya Arash , Weber Alexander , Kuck Karl-Heinz , Metzner Andreas , Mathew Shibu , Riedl Johannes , Yokokawa Miki , Jongnarangsin Krit , Latchamsetty Rakesh , Morady Fred , Bogun Frank M.
Published: December 2016

Background—

Recurrence of ventricular tachycardia (VT) after ablation in patients with previous myocardial infarction is associated with adverse prognosis. However, the impact of the timing of VT recurrence on outcomes is unclear.

Methods and Results—

We analyzed data from a multicenter collaborative database of patients who underwent catheter ablation for infarct-related VT. Multivariable Cox regression analyses investigated the effect of the timing of VT recurrence on the composite outcome of death or heart transplantation using VT recurrence as a time-varying covariate. A total of 1412 patients were included (92% men; age: 66.7±10.7 years), and 605 patients (42.8%) had a recurrence after median 116 days (188 [31.1%] within 1 month, 239 [39.5%] between 1 and 12 months, and 178 [29.4%] after 12 months). At median follow-up of 670 days, 375 patients (26.6%) experienced death or heart transplantation. The median time from recurrence to death or heart transplantation was 65 and 198.5 days in patients with recurrence ≤30 days and >30 days post ablation, respectively. The adjusted hazard ratio (95% confidence interval) for the effect of VT recurrence occurring immediately post ablation on death or heart transplantation was 3.45 (2.33–5.11) in reference to no recurrence. However, the magnitude of this effect decreased statistically significantly (
P
<0.001) as recurrence occurred later in the follow-up period. The respective risk estimates for VT recurrence at 30 days, 6 months, 1 year, and 2 years were 3.36 (2.29–4.93), 2.94 (2.09–4.14), 2.50 (1.85–3.37), and 1.81 (1.37–2.40).

Conclusions—

VT recurrence post ablation is associated with a mortality risk that is highest soon after the ablation and decreases gradually thereafter.
Selective Enhancement of Insulin Sensitivity in the Endothelium In Vivo Reveals a Novel Proatherosclerotic Signaling Loop
Authors: Viswambharan Hema , Yuldasheva Nadira Y. , Sengupta Anshuman , Imrie Helen , Gage Matthew C. , Haywood Natalie , Walker Andrew M.N. , Skromna Anna , Makova Natallia , Galloway Stacey , Shah Pooja , Sukumar Piruthivi , Porter Karen E. , Grant Peter J. , Shah Ajay M. , Santos Celio X.C. , Li Jing , Beech David J. , Wheatcroft Stephen B. , Cubbon Richard M. , Kearney Mark T.
Published: December 2016

Rationale:

In the endothelium, insulin stimulates endothelial NO synthase (eNOS) to generate the antiatherosclerotic signaling radical NO. Insulin-resistant type 2 diabetes mellitus is associated with reduced NO availability and accelerated atherosclerosis. The effect of enhancing endothelial insulin sensitivity on NO availability is unclear.

Objective:

To answer this question, we generated a mouse with endothelial cell (EC)–specific overexpression of the human insulin receptor (hIRECO) using the Tie2 promoter–enhancer.

Methods and Results:

hIRECO demonstrated significant endothelial dysfunction measured by blunted endothelium-dependent vasorelaxation to acetylcholine, which was normalized by a specific Nox2 NADPH oxidase inhibitor. Insulin-stimulated phosphorylation of protein kinase B was increased in hIRECO EC as was Nox2 NADPH oxidase–dependent generation of superoxide, whereas insulin-stimulated and shear stress–stimulated eNOS activations were blunted. Phosphorylation at the inhibitory residue Y657 of eNOS and expression of proline-rich tyrosine kinase 2 that phosphorylates this residue were significantly higher in hIRECO EC. Inhibition of proline-rich tyrosine kinase 2 improved insulin-induced and shear stress–induced eNOS activation in hIRECO EC.

Conclusions:

Enhancing insulin sensitivity specifically in EC leads to a paradoxical decline in endothelial function, mediated by increased tyrosine phosphorylation of eNOS and excess Nox2-derived superoxide. Increased EC insulin sensitivity leads to a proatherosclerotic imbalance between NO and superoxide. Inhibition of proline-rich tyrosine kinase 2 restores insulin-induced and shear stress–induced NO production. This study demonstrates for the first time that increased endothelial insulin sensitivity leads to a proatherosclerotic imbalance between NO and superoxide.
Forward and Backward Pressure Waveform Morphology in Hypertension
Authors: Li Ye , Gu Haotian , Fok Henry , Alastruey Jordi , Chowienczyk Philip
Published: December 2016

We tested the hypothesis that increased pulse wave reflection and altered backward waveform morphology contribute to increased pulse pressure in subjects with higher pulse pressure compared with lower pulse pressure and to actions of vasoactive drugs to increase pulse pressure. We examined the relationship of backward to forward wave morphology in 158 subjects who were evaluated for hypertension (including some normotensive subjects) divided into 3 groups by central pulse pressure: group 1, 33±6.5 mm Hg; group 2, 45±4.1 mm Hg; and group 3, 64±12.9 mm Hg (means±SD) and in healthy normotensive subjects during administration of inotropic and vasomotor drugs. Aortic pressure and flow in the aortic root were estimated by carotid tonometry and Doppler sonography, respectively. Morphology of the backward wave relative to the forward wave was similar in subjects in the lowest and highest tertiles of pulse pressure. Similar results were seen with the inotropic, vasopressor and vasodilator drugs, dobutamine, norepinephrine, and phentolamine, with the backward wave maintaining a constant ratio to the forward wave. However, nitroglycerin, a drug with a specific action to dilate muscular conduit arteries, reduced the amplitude of the backward wave relative to the forward wave from 0.26±0.018 at baseline to 0.19±0.019 during nitroglycerin 30 μg/min IV (
P
<0.01). These results are best explained by an approximately constant amount of reflection of the forward wave from the peripheral vasculature. The amount of reflection can be modified by dilation of peripheral muscular conduit arteries but contributes little to increased pulse pressure in hypertension.
Chronic Inhibition of Renal Outer Medullary Potassium Channel Not Only Prevented but Also Reversed Development of Hypertension and End-Organ Damage in Dahl Salt-Sensitive Rats
Authors: Zhou Xiaoyan , Forrest Michael J. , Sharif-Rodriguez Wanda , Forrest Gail , Szeto Daphne , Urosevic-Price Olga , Zhu Yonghua , Stevenson Andra S. , Zhou Yuchen , Stribling Sloan , Dajee Maya , Walsh Shawn P. , Pasternak Alexander , Sullivan Kathleen A.
Published: December 2016

The renal outer medullary potassium (ROMK) channel mediates potassium recycling and facilitates sodium reabsorption through the Na
+
/K
+
/2Cl
−
cotransporter in the loop of Henle and potassium secretion at the cortical collecting duct. Evidence from the phenotype of humans and rodents with functional ROMK deficiency supports the contention that selective ROMK inhibitors (ROMKi) will represent a novel diuretic with potential of therapeutic benefit for hypertension. ROMKi have recently been synthesized by Merck & Co, Inc. The present studies were designed to examine the effects of ROMKi B on systemic hemodynamics, renal function and structure, and vascular function in Dahl salt-sensitive rats. Four experimental groups—control, high-salt diet alone; ROMKi B 3 mg·kg
−
1
·d
−
1
; ROMKi B 10 mg·kg
−
1
·d
−
1
; and hydrochlorothiazide 25 mg·kg
−
1
·d
−
1
—were included in prophylactic (from week 1 to week 9 on high-salt diet) and therapeutic studies (from week 5 to week 9 on high-salt diet), respectively. ROMKi B produced sustained blood pressure reduction and improved renal and vascular function and histological alterations induced by a high-salt diet. ROMKi B was superior to hydrochlorothiazide at reducing blood pressure. Furthermore, ROMKi B provided beneficial effects on both the plasma lipid profile and bone mineral density. Chronic ROMK inhibition not only prevented but also reversed the development of hypertension and end-organ damage in Dahl salt-sensitive rats. Our findings suggest a potential utility of ROMKi B as a novel antihypertensive agent, particularly for the treatment of the salt-sensitive hypertension patient population.
Impact of Surgical Ablation of Atrial Fibrillation on the Progression of Tricuspid Regurgitation and Right‐Sided Heart Remodeling After Mitral‐Valve Surgery: A Propensity‐Score Matching Analysis
Authors: Wang Jiangang , Han Jie , Li Yan , Ye Qing , Meng Fei , Luo Tiange , Tian Baiyu , Zhang Haibo , Jia Yixin , Zeng Wen , Xu Chunlei , Han Wei , Jiao Yuqing , Meng Xu
Published: December 2016

Background

This study assessed the role of surgical ablation for atrial fibrillation (
AF
) in decreasing tricuspid regurgitation (
TR
) and right‐sided heart remodeling in patients after mitral valve procedure.

Methods and Results

Between 1994 and 2014, 1568 consecutive patients with
AF
undergoing mitral valve procedure were identified. In 26.0% (n=408), surgical ablation of
AF
was used. Propensity‐score matching (
PSM
) was performed on the basis of 41 known perioperative risk variables. Survival, reoperation, stroke, and moderate‐to‐severe
TR
, as well as echocardiography indices in long‐term follow‐up, were compared in 406 matched patient pairs (ablated and nonablated groups). The nonablated group showed significantly higher risks of death (hazard ratio [
HR
], 1.644; 95%
CI
, 1.081–2.501;
P
=0.020), reoperation (
HR
, 2.644; 95%
CI
, 1.299–5.466;
P
=0.008), and moderate‐to‐severe
TR
(
HR
, 1.436; 95%
CI
, 1.059–1.948;
P
=0.020), associated with a significantly deteriorated cardiac function, progression of
TR
, and right‐sided heart remodeling after 5‐year follow‐up. In a subgroup comparison of ablated patients with sinus rhythm versus
AF
recurrence, a
PSM
analysis was performed at the 5‐year follow‐up. The recurrent group showed significantly higher risks of moderate‐to‐severe
TR
(
HR
, 2.427; 95%
CI
, 1.261–4.671;
P
=0.008).
AF
recurrence was associated with progressive
TR
and significant deterioration in right‐sided heart remodeling.

Conclusions

In a retrospective
PSM
analysis, mitral valve disease with
AF
was associated with
TR
progression as well as right‐sided heart remodeling, which are alleviated by surgical ablation.
The Last Word Is: Imagination—A Study of the Spatial Aspects of Edgard Varèse’s Work, Part II: Visual Evidence
Authors: Reynolds Roger
Published: December 2016

Edgard Varèse was one of the singular musical innovators of the 20th century. Central to his thinking was an informed yet uniquely imaginative position regarding metaphoric “space.” Through contacts with science, he developed an idiosyncratic vocabulary involving “rotating planes,” “beams,” “projection” and “penetration.” His outlook was both conceptually and musically (especially in Intégrales) manifested. The first part of a two-part article, “The Last Word Is: Imagination, Part I: The Visual Evidence” (published in Perspectives of New Music), references Varèse’s writings and lectures. The second part, published here, is concerned with the visual evidence, a context within which his spatial ideas could be directly manifested without the distortions of electroacoustic sound projection or vagaries of instrumental and vocal performance. In original artworks, marginalia, doodles and an array of spiral diagrams, Varèse directly portrayed his concepts with remarkable lucidity.
Affective Quantification of Color Gestalt: Modeling of Affective Factors for Combinative Color Design
Authors: Hu Guosheng
Published: December 2016

Integrated combination of multiple colors as it is, color gestalt invariably troubles researchers as they seek to understand and analyze the complex constructions of affective factors. The author proposes a set of quantification methods for measuring color-affective factors of harmony, preference and structural composition. He also describes quantified models and interactive toolkits he built for both experimental purposes and user study. The author proposes a holistic method for understanding color combination that stands in contrast to conventional methods. Through this method, perception of color gestalt becomes computable and analyzable, inviting further research on interactive color computing and parametric design.
Data in Context: Conceptualizing Site-Specific Visualization Projects
Authors: Legrady George , Forbes Angus Graeme
Published: December 2016

Site-specific data visualization installations have distinct conditions of data collection, data analysis, audience interaction and data archiving. This article describes features of five data visualization projects related to their successful staging within different contexts.
Beyond Data: Abstract Motionscapes as Affective Visualization
Authors: Feng Chao , Bartram Lyn , Gromala Diane
Published: December 2016

Motionscapes—the compositions of visual forms in motion—have often been used for the evocation of affects in recent interactive artifacts and environments. While the motionscape aesthetic can be informed by art theory and history, previous empirical work investigating the affective affordances of motionscapes brings new perspectives to the design language of motionscapes. The authors argue that motionscapes that are commonly employed in artistic contexts can be appropriated for the design space of human-computer interaction (HCI) as a rich modality for affective visualization. The authors propose an initial set of principles and guidelines for evoking affect through motionscapes in interactive and immersive environments.
Culturegraphy
Authors: Albrecht Kim , Dörk Marian , Müller Boris
Published: December 2016

Culturegraphy visualizes the exchange of cultural information over time. Treating cultural works as nodes and influences as directed edges, the visualization of these cultural networks can provide new insights into the rich interconnections of cultural development such as that seen in movie references. All findings reported in this article were made through a process that involved network scientists, a media theorist and a sociologist; the role that visualization can play in bridging scientific communities was central to this work. The visualizations were in fact the result of a process to bring researchers from different disciplines together. While traditionally physicists have used different methods than those used by media theorists or sociologists, physicists are increasingly asking questions similar to those asked by media theorists or sociologists as they study the dynamics in networks. Visualization can serve as a common language that brings fields together and identifies the differences between them but that also has its own idiosyncratic views.
Photography as Model?
Authors: Witkovsky Matthew S.
Published: December 2016

Witkovsky argues that decades into photography's institutional acceptance as art, widespread inadequacies remain in the art historical treatment of photographs, which can no longer be defended as manifestations of a separate or distinctive “medium.” Insufficient attention to formal procedures, such as darkroom interventions between the stages of negative and print, as well as to disciplinary history—including the introduction of the very term “medium” in photographic discourse around 1930—remain commonplace. Yet despite a persistent tendency to totalize photography as a creative domain, photography as a museum department or academic field of study offers the promise to counter far larger impulses toward totalization, above all in a marketplace beset by an obsession with global contemporary art. What the study of photographs can model is a field of creation that moves in, under, and against “art in general.”
Chemical
Authors: Welling James
Published: December 2016

Photographer Jim Welling presents a series of chemigrams made by applying Kodak Dektol powder (developer) and Kodak powdered fixer to chromogenic paper (Kodak Endura Metallic) in room light. The prints were then fixed for the normal time and washed.
Revolution and After
Authors: Schwartz Stephanie
Published: December 2016

In 1988, the Cuban collective ABTV engaged in its first of several acts of art-historical homage. ABTV (Tanya Angulo, Juan Pablo Ballester, José Ángel Toirac, and Illeana Villazón) photocopied reproductions of Sherrie Levine's After Series, the now canonical work of postmodernism in which Levine rephotographed reproductions of selection of photographs by America's white male modernist masters. This essay takes ABTV's homage as the starting point for an inquiry into the relationship between postmodernism and postcolonialism. How, it asks, has an obsession with “ends” shaped our histories of photography and revolution?
Conceptual Art of the Press Release, or Art History without Art
Authors: Joselit David
Published: December 2016

As in neoliberal market theory, where maximal information is said to make markets more efficient, what Joselit calls “Conceptual art of the press release” (in which the artwork is “translated” into text as a proposition about its meaning) makes even difficult art easy to consume. The once radical proposal of Conceptual art—that objects exist in a transactional relation with text (and prosaic photographic documents)—has now become business as usual. But this is not merely the result of the now-standard practice of training artists in MFA programs, where learning consists of verbally justifying one's artworks before a cohort of peers and artist-instructors, nor the demands of a global and increasingly virtual art market. It is also a condition of today's academic practice in which art history is little more than the weaving together of primary and secondary sources that “historicize” and “theorize” objects without attending to them specifically. The current challenge for artists and critics is not to forego engaging with information, but rather to resist the allure of its transparency in favor of tracking its plasticity—in other words, the shapes of social governance and aesthetic speculation that its myriad overlapping channels assume.
Religious and Other Experiences of Daoist Priestesses in Tang China
Authors: Jia Jinhua
Published: December 2016

Most previous studies relating to women in Tang Daoism have relied heavily on Du Guangting’s (850-933) Yongcheng jixian lu, despite the fact that Du’s acknowledged hagiographies are idealized versions of the women’s lives. The present article seeks instead to gather information about historical priestesses from a wide range of contemporary sources, including most importantly epitaphic inscriptions, as well as other materials such as manuscripts from Dunhuang, various poems, essays, anecdotal accounts, and monastic gazetteers. Even while taking account of the possible urge of the authors sometimes to overpraise or exaggerate the merits of their subjects, we discover a surprisingly broad gamut of abilities displayed and activities engaged in by these women. Records relating to fifty-two named individuals are surveyed here, yielding much information of a quotidian nature about the varying roles and religious experiences of Daoist priestesses. 

La plupart des études existantes concernant les femmes dans le taoïsme des Tang recourent d’abondance au Yongcheng jixian lu de Du Guangting (850-933), alors que cet ouvrage délibérément hagiographique offre une version idéalisée de la vie de ses héroïnes. Le présent article cherche plutôt à rassembler des informations sur des prêtresses ayant historiquement existé en parcourant un vaste ensemble de sources contemporaines: en premier lieu les inscriptions funéraires, mais également les manuscrits de Dunhuang, les poèmes, les essais, les anecdotes, ou les monographies monastiques. Même en admettant une tendance de la part des auteurs à exagérer les mérites de leurs sujets, l’on découvre chez ces femmes un éventail de talents et d’activités étonnamment large. Les sources examinées ici concernent cinquante-deux personnes et livrent quantité d’informations de nature quotidienne sur les différents rôles et sur les expériences religieuses des prêtresses taoïstes.
Buddhist Tales of Lü Dongbin
Authors: Capitanio Joshua
Published: December 2016

During the early thirteenth century, a story began to appear within texts associated with the Chan 禪 Buddhist movement, which portrays an encounter between the eminent transcendent Lü Dongbin 呂洞賓 and the Chan monk Huanglong Huiji 黃龍誨機 that results in Lü abandoning his alchemical techniques of self-cultivation and taking up the practice of Chan. This article traces the development of this tale across a number of Buddhist sources of the late imperial period, and also examines the ways in which later Buddhist and Daoist authors understood the story and utilized it in advancing their own polemical claims. 

Au début du treizième siècle apparaît dans les textes du bouddhisme Chan un récit qui met en scène une rencontre entre le célèbre immortel Lü Dongbin et le moine Chan Huanglong Huiji. Au terme de cette rencontre, Lü abandonne ses pratiques alchimiques de perfectionnement de soi et adopte celle de la méditation Chan. Le présent article retrace le développement de ce thème narratif au travers des sources bouddhiques de la fin de l’époque impériale, et examine la manière dont des auteurs bouddhistes et taoïstes ont compris le récit et l’ont manipulé en fonction de leurs propres objectifs polémiques.
Constructing a Playful Space: Eight-Legged Essays on Xixiang ji and Pipa ji
Authors: Wu Yinghui
Published: December 2016

This article examines the “playful eight-legged essay” as a form of literary parody and discusses its circulation in printed editions of The Story of the Western Wing and The Story of the Lute in late imperial China. The rise of the playful eight-legged essay was part of a philosophical and literary tradition of “game-playing,” and occurred in the context of publications that appropriated canonical genres for fashionable entertainment. Reading the playful compositions against the generic conventions of the standard examination essay, on the one hand, and the original drama commentary, on the other, the author explores the playful eight-legged essay as an increasingly autonomous mode of critical commentary that was independent from, yet still associated with, the dramatic text. Employing dramatic impersonation, the essays opened up a playful space for the staging of passion and extended the appeal of the original play by involving the reader in its imaginative performance. 

Cet article étudie les adaptations plaisantes des “dissertations en huit jambes” comme forme de parodie littéraire et en examine la diffusion à travers les éditions imprimées du Pavillon de l’ouest et de l’Histoire du luth à la fin de l’empire. L’émergence de telles adaptations, inscrites dans une tradition ludique à la fois philosophique et littéraire, est contemporaine de la parution d’ouvrages qui détournaient les genres canoniques à des fins de récréation élégante. La lecture de ces dissertations amusantes que propose l’auteur se réfère à la fois aux conventions présidant à la composition des dissertations d’examen et aux commentaires d’œuvres théâtrales proprement dits. Il en ressort que le genre de la dissertation parodique a acquis une autonomie croissante en tant que commentaire critique indépendant des œuvres dramatiques tout en y restant associé. En s’appropriant la voix des personnages des pièces, de tels textes ouvrent un espace de fantaisie propice à la mise en scène des passions et renforcent l’attrait des œuvres originales en impliquant le lecteur dans leur réalisation imaginée.
Towards a History of Projects
Authors: Keller Vera , McCormick Ted
Published: December 2016

This introduction argues for the value of projecting as a category of analysis, while exploring the contexts for its emergence and spread as a genre of intellectual and practical activity in the sixteenth, seventeenth, and eighteenth centuries. The emergence of the morally ambivalent figure of the “projector” in Elizabethan and Stuart England – initially in connection with confessional strife and attacks on corruption, and subsequently in relation to colonial expansion, experimental philosophy, and commercial and fiscal innovation – provoked defences of projecting that articulated the relationship between private interest, individual effort, the public good, and collaborative ­scientific practice in new ways. German cameralists and French philosophes extended these arguments, while recuperating the figure of the projector, in the eighteenth century.
Between Utopia and New Jerusalem: Eschatological Projectors and Lutheran Confessional Culture in the Seventeenth Century
Authors: Penman Leigh T.I.
Published: December 2016

Contributing to discussions concerning the influence of eschatological ideas on trajectories of natural philosophy in the early modern period, the present article analyses several distinct projects which emerged from the intellectual and religious traditions of Lutheran confessional culture, which imagined a future earthly golden age that existed in a discursive space between communistic utopia and heavenly Jerusalem. A consideration of this impulse among figures who emerged from Lutheran culture – like Wolfgang Ratke, Wilhelm Eo Neuheuser, Johann Valentin Andreae, Johann Permeier, and even Samuel Hartlib – sheds a unique light on broader issues of epistemology, eschatology and reforming activism of the period, and the varying cultures – natural philosophical, political and religious – which could be harmonized within the ambit of an encompassing eschatological vision.
Bastard Breadfruit and other Cheap Provisions: Early Food Science for the Welfare of the Lower Orders
Authors: Zilberstein Anya
Published: December 2016

Breadfruit is best known in connection with an infamously failed project: the 1789 mutiny against the Bounty, commanded by William Bligh. However, four years later, Bligh returned to the Pacific and fulfilled his commission, delivering breadfruit and other Pacific foods to Caribbean plantations. Placing these plant transfers in the emerging sciences of food and nutrition in the eighteenth century, this essay examines the broader political project of what would much later be called ‘the welfare state,’ which motivated British officials’ interest in experimenting with novel ingredients and recipes to cheaply nourish a range of dependent populations in institutional settings. Perhaps most strikingly, their nutritional recommendations borrowed directly from agricultural practices, particularly from new methods for feeding livestock in confinement.
“Entrance Free—we are Looking Forward to your Visit!”: Public Events as Strategies of Legitimisation in Immigrant Religious Organisations
Authors: Rückamp Veronika , Limacher Katharina
Published: December 2016

Public events by immigrant religious organisations are a fairly new phenomenon in European societies. This article analyses and compares two such events: Diwali Mela, the Hindu festival of lights, and the Open Mosque Day organised by Muslim umbrella organisations. Using basic concepts of new institutional theory, we will show how immigrant religious organisations adopt established event formats and translate them into their own context. Interestingly, different factors influence the way they present themselves and their religious tradition at the public event. Three of these factors are of major impact: the secular image of the role of religion in society, the discourse about Islam and Hinduism, and finally the organisations’ own religious concepts. We argue that the action generated out of this leads to the masking of two major aspects of religion: the rites and the believers.
Two new species of the genus Austroniscus Vanhoeffen, 1914 (Isopoda: Asellota: Nannoniscidae) from the Antarctic shelf
Authors: KAISER STEFANIE , BRANDT ANGELIKA
Published: December 2016

During the BENDEX expedition (BENthic Disturbance-EXperiment) with RV Polarstern in Antarctic summer 2003/04, species of the genus Austroniscus Vanhoeffen, 1914 were sampled from the continental shelf of the eastern Weddell Sea. Besides Austroniscus ovalis Vanhoeffen, 1914, which is the first record of this species from western Antarctica, two other species were found, i.e. Austroniscus chelus sp. nov. and Austroniscus obscurus sp. nov. They both bear many resemblances to Austroniscus ovalis, but can be easily distinguished from A. ovalis by the shape of the rostral crest and the first pereonite. The two new species are very similar to each other but differ in the number of articles of the antennula and the shape of pleopods 3 to 5.
Fine morphology of the cuticle surface of Chordodes anthophorus and reinterpretation of C. aquaeductus, C. ferganensis and C. oscillatus (Gordiida Nematomorpha)
Authors: DE VILLALOBOS CRISTINA , ZANCA FERNANDA , SPIRIDONOV SERGEI
Published: December 2016

We reinvestigate four species of the genus Chordodes from Central Asia and one from Georgia (Transcaucasian part of former USSR) in order to certify the taxonomic descriptions and verify the species status. By scanning electron microscopy, we demonstrate characteristic cuticular patterns for Chordodes anthophorus. The other three species, C. aquaeductus, C. ferganensis and C. oscillatus are synonymized with C. anthophorus because no differences were detected.
Allagelena monticola sp. n. (Araneae: Agelenidae), a new species of funnel-web spiders from northern Thailand
Authors: CHAMI-KRANON THANAPHUM , LIKHITRAKARN NATDANAI , DANKITTIPAKUL PAKAWIN
Published: December 2016

A new species of the funnel-web spiders from Thailand, Allagelena monticola sp. n., is described and illustrated. The types of this species were collected from remnant patches of pristine evergreen hill forest in the Doi Inthanon National Park, Chiang Mai Province, northern Thailand. The new species resembles the widely distributed species A. opulenta (L. Koch), which is known from China, Korea and Japan. This discovery expands the known zoogeographical distribution of the genus Allagelena southwards into tropical Southeast Asia.
A review of Physiphora Fallén (Diptera: Ulidiidae) from China
Authors: CHEN XIAO-LIN , KAMENEVA ELENA P.
Published: December 2016

Five species of the genus Physiphora Fallén are found to occur in China: P. alceae Preyssler, P. chalybea Hendel, P. clausa (Macquart), P. hainanensis Chen n. sp. and P. longicornis Hendel. Among them, P. alceae Preyssler, P. chalybea Hendel and P. clausa (Macquart) are newly reported from Mainland China; P. hainanensis n. sp. is described and figured. A key to the species, diagnoses, description and illustrations are also provided.
A new species of Rhodania Goux (Hemiptera, Coccoidea, Pseudococcidae) and new records of two other mealybug species from Iran
Authors: WILLIAMS D.J. , MOGHADDAM M.
Published: December 2016

Three mealybug species Rhodania aeluropi sp. nov., Spilococcus alhagii (Hall) and Eurycoccus tamariscus Williams are discussed and recorded from Iran for the first time. Rhodania aeluropi was collected on the grass Aleuropus sp. in sugarcane fields, and S. alhagii, a species already known from other countries in the Middle East, is redescribed from specimens collected in Iran. There is considerable variation in the taxonomic characters of S. alhagii in all the material studied.