bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Confucianism and Neo-Confucianism
Authors: Tiwald Justin
Published: December 2017

In this chapter the author defends the view that the major variants of Confucian ethics qualify as virtue ethics in the respects that matter most, which concern the focus, investigative priority, and explanatory priority of virtue over right action. The chapter also provides short summaries of the central Confucian virtues and then explains how different Confucians have understood the relationship between these and what some regard as the chief or most comprehensive virtue, ren (humaneness or benevolence). Finally, it explicates what most Confucians take to be a requirement of all virtues, which the author calls “wholeheartedness,” and concludes by highlighting some neglected implications of the wholeheartedness requirement for ethics more generally. These include reasons for linking conceptions of virtue and human nature, for thinking that good character necessitates that individuals change how things seem to them, and for endorsing automatic as opposed to intensively deliberative judgments and decisions.
Putting Ideals in Their Place
Authors: Russell Daniel C.
Published: December 2017

Ideal virtue theories posit what counts as good character and then ask how one gets there from here. This chapter defends a non-ideal theory, on two fronts. One, getting better is path-dependent: to understand moral development, one must first understand what psychological paths are available, and then determine what developments that are possible along those paths would count as genuine improvements. Ideals like “the virtuous person” help one understand in which direction “better” lies, and one cannot do that work without them. Second, that is all the work ideals do, because doing better is also path-dependent. While the virtue of generosity (say) has the right goal of helping others, that goal is indeterminate, and it takes practical intelligence to appreciate what is feasible in the world as one finds it to determine what it would mean to realize one’s goal in a way that is genuinely excellent.
Virtue Responsibilism
Authors: Wright Sarah
Published: December 2017

This chapter begins by marking the distinction between reliabilism and responsibilism in virtue epistemology. It then charts the development of virtue responsibilism through a number of authors, noting the subtle distinctions in their views. Varieties of virtue responsibilism are distinguished first, by their characterization of the intellectual virtues, and second, by the role (if any) they assign to the intellectual virtues in defining knowledge. A number of arguments against defining knowledge with reference to the intellectual virtues are surveyed. Situationism is then presented as a general objection to the very existence of either moral or intellectual virtues. It is argued that the empirical studies taken to support situationism do not demonstrate the lack of virtuous character traits when those traits are properly understood. Finally, there is a survey of the host of directions in which current approaches to virtue responsibilism are developing.
Making ‘Music at the Editing Table’
Authors: Newstok Scott
Published: December 2017

Orson Welles was as multifaceted as Shakespeare in drawing his material from manifold sources across multiple media. His 1952 film Othello strategically echoes Verdi and Boito’s 1887 opera Otello, and thereby vindicates his adaptation’s liberties by triangulating and transmediating his sources. Invoking Verdi also permitted Welles to contrast his own Shakespeare films with those of Laurence Olivier, whom Welles dismissed as merely a transcriber of stage versions. In contrast, Welles described his own editing practice as being more akin to musical composition. Attending to Welles’s recurrent annexation of opera offers a more suggestive account of his creative process and ultimate achievement.
Can the Subaltern Sing?
Authors: Lehmann Courtney
Published: December 2017

Completed in 1966, Liz White’s Othello is the first and only Shakespeare film directed by a black woman, as well as the first cinematic adaptation of a Shakespeare play to feature an all-black cast and crew. When production began in 1962, White was intent on using her landmark adaptation to assert a place for women within the male-dominated black nationalist movements of the 1960s. By focusing on the (mis)treatment of women in Othello, White links their struggle—or lack thereof—to the double displacement of black women within the burgeoning civil rights movement. Particularly in this context, it seems counter-intuitive that White would draw upon conventions from one of the most conservative cinematic genres—the American film musical—to generate an alternative set of signifying practices for articulating civil rights claims and for chronicling the historical process whereby women become the vanishing mediators of social ‘progress’…
The Time Is Out of Joint
Authors: Shaughnessy Robert
Published: December 2017

One of the culturally dominant means through which time is conceptualized as space, and vice versa, jet lag has increasingly become a metaphor we live by. It has particular resonances for Shakespearean performance, a phenomenon that is, by definition, perpetually out of time. Taking as a point of departure Brian Cox’s 1991 account of his experience of the National Theatre’s touring productions of King Lear and Richard III, this chapter aligns the predicament of the jet -lagged traveller, the off-form actor, and the jet-lagged, off-form travelling actor to argue that their mutual predicament offers an under-explored frame of reference for performance in general and for Shakespeare in performance in particular. It examines how mechanisms of synchrony (or entrainment) shape the actor’s work in performance and with the audience. It also examines the implications of theatrical good and bad timing, and the sometimes unexpected consequences of time getting out of joint.
(How) Should We Listen to Audiences?
Authors: Thompson Ayanna
Published: December 2017

How do scholars and practitioners know what audiences think about non-traditionally cast productions of Shakespeare? Non-traditional casting—the practice of casting actors of colour in roles originally imagined as white characters performed by white actors—is a common phenomenon on British and American stages, especially in contemporary productions of classical plays. Nonetheless, very little research has been conducted on the effects of perceptions of race in/as performance on classical stages. This chapter asks a series of theoretical and methodological questions about the intersection of reception theory, the theatre archive, and race in/as performance. Beginning with an overview of reception studies for Shakespearean theatrical productions, it then examines an unusual audience reception archive—audience surveys conducted by the Oregon Shakespeare Festival—to analyse reactions to non-traditional casting of Romeo and Juliet. Finally it considers contemporary race studies and offers some thoughts about how to move forward with Shakespearean reception studies.
Forgetting Performance
Authors: Holland Peter
Published: December 2017

In the age of memory studies, there has been far less thinking about forgetting than remembering. This chapter considers what we remember of performance and how much we forget. Starting with the forgetting in a series of Shakespeare versions in texting (OMG Shakespeare), the chapter moves on to think about theories of forgetting, current and early modern, as well as how Shakespeare uses the concept of forgetting, before taking the author’s own paucity of memories of a Chicago Shakespeare Theatre production of King Lear as a test case. It ends with Geoffrey Sonnabend’s theory of obliscence and Anna Smaill’s novel The Chimes (2015).
Portals of Conscious Transformation
Authors: Plevin Marcia
Published: December 2017

This chapter discusses the journey of inner witness consciousness and the transformative experience of ten women who participated in a choreography project with the discipline and practice of Authentic Movement at its core. Dancers and non-dancers accepted an invitation to practice the dyad form with the author as external witness, to create a piece of choreography from instances of ‘being moved’. The movers then shared their dances with the collective of movers in the project and in subsequent public performance. The choreography became dances that heal through four portals of transformation: to be seen, to see oneself being seen, to be seen by the collective, and to be seen in public performance. The author’s and participants’ reflections and the video accompanying the article illustrate the project’s complexity: how, on a physical, emotional, and healing level, creating their dances became a process resulting in personal transformational choreography.
Dance in the Body, the Mind, and the Brain
Authors: Bläsing Bettina
Published: December 2017

This chapter is based on the view that dancing can promote positive feelings and energy. Even watching others dancing—on stage, in a movie, or in a club—can improve feelings of wellbeing. With reference to relevant literature, it explores how the brain links action with perception, and how technical challenges are resolved in investigating brain activity in dance observers. Early studies using neuroimaging techniques are discussed, and comparisons are drawn with recent studies in neuroaesthetics. Findings from these studies suggest that brain scientists can learn from dancers and dance spectators about action–perception coupling and the integration of movement, cognition, and emotion. Conclusions are drawn regarding how dancing, and dance viewing, stimulates the parts of our brains that are involved in whole-body motor action as well as social, communicative, and creative tasks, and can elicit positive emotional reactions, contributing to wellbeing. Implications are discussed for choreography, dance training, education, and rehabilitation.
Capoeira in the Community
Authors: Reis André Luiz Teixeira , Oliver Sue
Published: December 2017

Based on Reis’ doctoral research, this chapter explores the elements of capoeira as a collective experience developing social skills, abilities, and styles, and promoting group engagement, cohesion, and empowerment. The chapter discusses the contribution of capoeira to social wellbeing through some core concepts: friendship, peer relationships, leadership, individual and group identity, and a sense of belonging, using hermeneutic phenomenology as an approach to understanding the dancers’ feelings in their community. The authors postulate that groups in a community may assume the sociological structure of the larger collective, and experiencing dance in groups may improve participants’ sense of social wellbeing, which is subjective and multidimensional. The chapter concludes that the art of teaching capoeira is not to suppress individuality but to celebrate it in pursuit of the team’s common goals, thus enhancing individual and community wellbeing.
Being in Pieces
Authors: Edward Mark , Bannon Fiona
Published: December 2017

Informed by personal narratives of one of the authors, this chapter explores ways in which his career in dance has been challenged through mental ill health and the physical and emotional disruptions of age. The purpose is to situate the performer as self—as both the researcher and the subject of the research. The reader glimpses a reflexive dialogue concerning transitions in identity traced through embodied memory, dancing nostalgia, loss, reluctance, mental illness, and difference. Interest lies in embracing realms of personal knowledge through appraising being-embodied and being-imaged, and where being multiple and being singular tasks one with gaining self-recognition. Being in Pieces utilizes the material archive from the performances and installations of Falling Apart at the Seams (2008), Council House Movie Star (2012), and Dying Swans and Dragged Up Dames (2013), by delving into a distant dancing self and the somatic archaeology of performing past(s) retrieved, renegotiated, and relanguaged.
Cultural Adaptations of Dance Movement Psychotherapy Experiences
Authors: Copteros Athiná , Karkou Vicky , Palmer Carolyn G.
Published: December 2017

Water plays a key role in all our lives, and in South Africa it epitomizes a space in which political inequalities have played themselves out with devastating consequences. The current ecological crisis demands new ways of engaging with ourselves, each other, and nature. This research is an initial exploration on the use of a body-based creative movement approach within a transdisciplinary complex social–ecological systems researcher group. The research objective was to develop culturally relevant themes from professional dance movement psychotherapy (DMP) training in the UK for application in a South African water-resource management context, using interpretative phenomenological analysis. Artistic inquiry was used to reflect creatively on the themes and to add an embodied response to the discussion. The cultural adaptations of DMP can contribute to a more engaged and non-hierarchical collaboration between practitioners and the people and communities they serve.
Emotions in Motion
Authors: Punkanen Marko , Saarikallio Suvi , Leinonen Outi , Forsblom Anita , Kulju Jeena , Luck Geoff
Published: December 2017

Depression is a disabling medical illness characterized by persistent and all-encompassing feelings of sadness, loss of interest, or pleasure in normally enjoyable activities, as well as problems in emotion regulation. Medication, sometimes in combination with verbal psychotherapy or counselling, is the predominant method of treatment for depression. This article argues that body movement, being fundamental to the perception and production of emotion, should also be considered in approaches and methods utilized in the treatment of depression. This chapter introduces motion capture technology as a method for studying dance movement, and provides a short overview of related studies. Recent findings about the effect of depression on a person’s movement expression, as well as possibilities of using dance/movement therapy (D/MT) as a therapy intervention for depression, are presented. Finally, this chapter gives a voice to one of the clients with depression who participated in a recent D/MT study carried out by the authors.
Use of Mindful Observer to Extend Simulation Learning Experience
Authors: Collins Tina , Lambert Lynn , Helms Carolyn D. , Minichiello Virginia M.
Published: December 2017

Simulation is a teaching strategy that allows students to experience patient care situations in a safe environment. After these experiences, students will understand and respond more readily when exposed in clinical practice. An increase in student enrollment meant incorporating larger numbers of students into simulations. Faculty at an associate degree nursing program decided to use the observer role. At the time, mindfulness was being integrated throughout the curriculum. Use of a mindful observer during simulations resulted in an effective learning strategy as reported by students.
Clinical Judgment During Simulation: A Comparison of Student and Faculty Scores
Authors: Strickland Haley P. , Cheshire Michelle H. , March Alice L.
Published: December 2017

This study utilized the Lasater Clinical Judgment Rubric (LCJR) to investigate the relationship between the student’s self-assessment of clinical judgment skills and the faculty’s assessment during a human patient simulation. The study used a quantitative design with baccalaureate nursing students (n = 94) enrolled in an adult health course as participants. The data revealed a positive correlation between evaluator and student scores on the LCJR. The findings support the use of the LCJR in combination with simulation to evaluate nursing students’ clinical judgment skills and to quantify competency levels.
Establishing Inter- and Intrarater Reliability for High-Stakes Testing Using Simulation
Authors: Kardong-Edgren Suzan , Oermann Marilyn H. , Rizzolo Mary Anne , Odom-Maryon Tamara
Published: December 2017

AIM

This article reports one method to develop a standardized training method to establish the inter- and intrarater reliability of a group of raters for high-stakes testing.

BACKGROUND

Simulation is used increasingly for high-stakes testing, but without research into the development of inter- and intrarater reliability for raters.

METHOD

Eleven raters were trained using a standardized methodology. Raters scored 28 student videos over a six-week period. Raters then rescored all videos over a two-day period to establish both intra- and interrater reliability.

RESULTS

One rater demonstrated poor intrarater reliability; a second rater failed all students. Kappa statistics improved from the moderate to substantial agreement range with the exclusion of the two outlier raters’ scores.

CONCLUSION

There may be faculty who, for different reasons, should not be included in high-stakes testing evaluations. All faculty are content experts, but not all are expert evaluators.
The Health Information Technology Competencies Tool
Authors: Sipes Carolyn , Hunter Kathleen , McGonigle Dee , West Karen , Hill Taryn , Hebda Toni
Published: December 2017

Information technology use in healthcare delivery mandates a prepared workforce. The initial Health Information Technology Competencies tool resulted from a 2-year transatlantic effort by experts from the US and European Union to identify approaches to develop skills and knowledge needed by healthcare workers. It was determined that competencies must be identified before strategies are established, resulting in a searchable database of more than 1000 competencies representing five domains, five skill levels, and more than 250 roles. Health Information Technology Competencies is available at no cost and supports role- or competency-based queries. Health Information Technology Competencies developers suggest its use for curriculum planning, job descriptions, and professional development.

The Chamberlain College of Nursing informatics research team examined Health Information Technology Competencies for its possible application to our research and our curricular development, comparing it originally with the TIGER-based Assessment of Nursing Informatics Competencies and Nursing Informatics Competency Assessment of Level 3 and Level 4 tools, which examine informatics competencies at four levels of nursing practice. Additional analysis involved the 2015 Nursing Informatics: Scope and Standards of Practice. Informatics is a Health Information Technology Competencies domain, so clear delineation of nursing-informatics competencies was expected. Researchers found TIGER-based Assessment of Nursing Informatics Competencies and Nursing Informatics Competency Assessment of Level 3 and Level 4 differed from Health Information Technology Competencies 2016 in focus, definitions, ascribed competencies, and defined levels of expertise. When Health Information Technology Competencies 2017 was compared against the nursing informatics scope and standards, researchers found an increase in the number of informatics competencies but not to a significant degree. This is not surprising, given that Health Information Technology Competencies includes all healthcare workers, while the TIGER-based Assessment of Nursing Informatics Competencies and Nursing Informatics Competency Assessment of Level 3 and Level 4 tools and the American Nurses Association Nursing Informatics: Scope and Standards of Practice are nurse specific. No clear cross mapping across these tools and the standards of nursing informatics practice exists. Further examination and review are needed to translate Health Information Technology Competencies as a viable tool for nursing informatics use in the US.
Colorectal Cancer Safety Net: Is It Catching Patients Appropriately?
Authors: Althans Alison R. , Brady Justin T. , Times Melissa L. , Keller Deborah S. , Harvey Alexis R. , Kelly Molly E. , Patel Nilam D. , Steele Scott R.
Published: December 2017

BACKGROUND:

Disparities in access to colorectal cancer care are multifactorial and are affected by socioeconomic elements. Uninsured and Medicaid patients present with advanced stage disease and have worse outcomes compared with similar privately insured patients. Safety net hospitals are a major care provider to this vulnerable population. Few studies have evaluated outcomes for safety net hospitals compared with private institutions in colorectal cancer.

OBJECTIVE:

The purpose of this study was to compare demographics, screening rates, presentation stage, and survival rates between a safety net hospital and a tertiary care center.

DESIGN:

Comparative review of patients at 2 institutions in the same metropolitan area were conducted.

SETTINGS:

The study included colorectal cancer care delivered either at 1 safety net hospital or 1 private tertiary care center in the same city from 2010 to 2016.

PATIENTS:

A total of 350 patients with colorectal cancer from each hospital were evaluated.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES:

Overall survival across hospital systems was measured.

RESULTS:

The safety net hospital had significantly more uninsured and Medicaid patients (46% vs 13%; p < 0.001) and a significantly lower median household income than the tertiary care center ($39,299 vs $49,741; p < 0.0001). At initial presentation, a similar percentage of patients at each hospital presented with stage IV disease (26% vs 20%; p = 0.06). For those undergoing resection, final pathologic stage distribution was similar across groups (p = 0.10). After a comparable median follow-up period (26.6 mo for safety net hospital vs 29.2 mo for tertiary care center), log-rank test for overall survival favored the safety net hospital (p = 0.05); disease-free survival was similar between hospitals (p = 0.40).

LIMITATIONS:

This was a retrospective review, reporting from medical charts.

CONCLUSIONS:

Our results support the value of safety net hospitals for providing quality colorectal cancer care, with survival and recurrence outcomes equivalent or improved compared with a local tertiary care center. Because safety net hospitals can provide equivalent outcomes despite socioeconomic inequalities and financial constraints, emphasis should be focused on ensuring that adequate funding for these institutions continues. See Video Abstract at http://links.lww.com/DCR/A454.
Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillators and Survival in Continuous-Flow Left Ventricular Assist Device Patients
Authors: Kutyifa Valentina , Fernandez Genaro , Sherazi Saadia , Aktas Mehmet , Huang David , McNitt Scott , Papernov Anna , Wang Meng , Massey H. Todd , Chen Leway , Alexis Jeffrey D.
Published: December 2017

The association of an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) with survival in patients with left ventricular assist devices (LVADs) is not well understood. We evaluated all-cause mortality by the presence of an ICD at the time of LVAD implantation, or by ICD implantation after LVAD placement in 191 patients, using Kaplan–Meier survival analyses and Cox models with multivariate adjustment. During the median follow-up of 23 months, 33 of 129 patients (26%) with an ICD and 17 of 62 patients (27%) without an ICD died. Patients had similar all-cause mortality with or without an ICD before LVAD, after censoring for post-LVAD ICD implantation (log-rank p = 0.889). Multivariate models after adjustments revealed no statistically significant survival benefit from an ICD before LVAD (hazard ratio [HR]: 0.65, 95% CI: 0.27–1.57, p = 0.340). Thirty-one of 62 (50%) patients without an ICD before LVAD implantation subsequently received an ICD after LVAD, although these patients did not have significantly better survival when compared with those with no ICD in a time-dependent analysis (HR: 0.70, 95% CI: 0.25–1.95, p = 0.497). Among LVAD patients, neither a previously implanted ICD nor a new ICD implantation after LVAD yielded statistically significant survival benefit. Further studies are warranted to investigate the role of ICD implantation in LVAD patients.
The Aesthetic Analyzing of Midface Ratio After Folding Aponeurosis of Levator Palpebrae Superioris Muscle in the Ptosis Correction
Authors: Ji Chenyang , Li Ruiting , He Wei , Zhang Jinming
Published: December 2017

Background:

Some fordless-eyelid patients with moderate upper lid ptosis characterize in a higher eyebrow position which leads to an increased midfacial ratio. Apart from performing blepharoplasty to create dynamic folds, additional procedures such as folding aponeurosis of levator palpebrae superioris muscle were effective to revise the enlarged ratio of midface through lowering eyebrow, which gains good aesthetic results. However, the specific changes in the proportion of facial aesthetics and the importance of these change were serious lack in the literature as far as the authors know.

Purpose:

To measure the ratio of the length between upper edge of eyebrow and edge of lower eyelid (L1)/the length between edge of lower eyelid and nasal base (L2) in the fordless-eyelid and upper lid ptosis patients who received levator aponeurosis folding surgery, and to analyze the change in the proportion of midfacial aesthetics.

Method:

From December 2015 to October 2016, the pre- and postoperative photographs from 21 cases of patients with foldless eyelid and upper lid ptosis who underwent the levator aponeurosis folding procedures in the authors’ department were collected as study group. Additional full-face pictures of 20 Chinese female movie stars were prepared as control group. The ratios of L1/ L2 (J) were measured via Adobe Photoshop CS6. The statistical significance was analyzed and the change of midfacial proportion was evaluated.

Result:

In the study group, the mean value of preoperative L1/L2 (J1) is 0.746, and (J2) 0.657 postoperatively. In the control group, the mean value of L1/L2 (J3) is 0.667. Statistical differences showed between the pre- and postoperative samples and between preoperative samples and control group. There was no statistical difference between postoperative samples and control group samples. The ratios between L1 and L2 in postoperative samples are close to those in the control group, which are closer to the golden radio.

Conclusion:

Levator aponeurosis folding can effectively lower eyebrow in patients with upper lid ptosis, shortening the length between eyebrow and lower eyelid, and therefore harvesting a more appropriate and harmonious ratio of L1/ L2 according to the golden section theory. The changes in the proportion of midfacial aesthetics after operation could be used as a key point in the preoperative communication and postoperative effect evaluation, besides the size of palpebral fissure and corneal exposure rate.
Scaffold Free Bone Regeneration Using Platelet-Rich Fibrin in Calvarial Defect Model
Authors: Jeon Yeo Reum , Kim Mi Jung , Kim Yong Oock , Roh Tai Suk , Lee Won Jai , Kang Eun Hye , Yun In Sik
Published: December 2017

Bone regeneration is a complex process influenced by various physiological factors. Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) contains many growth factors and has shown osteogenic effects. The PRP is usually activated before use. However, the authors showed that nonactivated PRP (nPRP) and activated PRP have comparable osteogenic effects in the previous study. Generally, a scaffold has been needed for the application of PRP in the cranial defect model. In this study, the authors aimed to compare the performance of scaffold free platelet-rich fibrin (PRF) to nPRP as an adjuvant for bone regeneration.

Twenty-four New Zealand White rabbits were randomly allocated into 3 groups: control, nPRP, and PRF. A 15 × 15 mm2 defect was created on each rabbit's cranium. Acellular collagen sponges (Gelfoam) were placed on the defects of the control group, Gelfoam with nPRP was used for the nPRP group, and PRF membrane was directly applied for the PRF group. nPRP and PRF were obtained from each subject's peripheral blood. Sixteen weeks later, the volume of regenerated bone was measured using 3-dimensional computed tomography. The surface area was measured via autopsy, and the samples were then obtained for histological analysis.

Bone regeneration in the experimental groups was significantly greater than that in the control group. There were no significant differences in the area of regeneration or histological characteristics between the nPRP and PRF groups.

In the calvarial defect of the rabbits, the use of PRF and scaffolded PRP showed comparable bone regeneration effects, which suggested that PRF might be a therapeutic alternative for bone grafts.
A Literature Review of Percutaneous Endoscopic Gastrostomy
Authors: Pars Hatice , Çavuşoğlu Hicran
Published: December 2017

Sufficient energy and essential nutrients are vital for normal growth and development in childhood. Ideally, nutrition should be provided orally. However, if the gastrointestinal system is functional, enteral tube feeding can be used when nutritional requirements cannot be provided orally, thus providing nutritional benefits and enabling positive disease management in pediatric patients. Postoperative care in children allows monitoring of the position and functionality of the tube; performing nutrition intolerance, growth, hydration, and nutritional assessments; and performing metabolic and complication follow-ups. Tube feeding in pediatric patients is beneficial and has positive effects in controlling and managing diseases and providing appropriate nutrition in children. However, in postoperative patients, it is important to prevent potential complications, which can be classified into 5 groups: mechanical, gastrointestinal, metabolic, infectious, and pulmonary complications. Important points for managing complications include having enteral nutrition practices based on evidence-based guidelines, sharing outcomes with nurses working in clinical settings, creating enteral feeding guides in clinical settings, providing patients/patients' family with training in line with these guides, and maintaining follow-ups at home. This literature review discusses complications and practices regarding the management of complications after percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy.
Sacrocolpopexy With Concomitant Total vs Supracervical Hysterectomy: Functional Support Comparisons in Cadavers
Authors: Maldonado Pedro Antonio , Norris Kyle P. , Florian-Rodriguez Maria E. , Shah Nemi M. , Wai Clifford Y.
Published: December 2017

Objective

This study aimed to compare the ability of abdominal sacrocolpopexy (ASC) with concomitant total vs supracervical hysterectomy to resist downward traction as a measure of functional anatomic support in human cadavers.

Methods

Supracervical hysterectomy was performed on unembalmed cadaver specimens, followed by ASC attaching polypropylene mesh to the posterior cervix/vagina only and then the anterior and posterior cervix/vagina. Using a metal bolt placed through the cervix tied to a filament passing through a fixed pulley system, successive weights of 0.5 to 3.0 kg were added to provide increasing loads on the apex (cervix), and the distances traversed by the apex were recorded. The same process was then repeated in each specimen after removal of the cervix (with vaginal cuff closure). One-way and repeated-measures analysis of measure was used for between-group and within-group comparisons, respectively, with P ≤ 0.05 considered statistically significant.

Results

Eight cadavers were examined. At lower weight loads, pulling distances in the 4 groups examined were similar and were not significantly different with the presence or absence of the cervix. At weight loads of 2.5 kg or greater, we noted a trend of increased pulling distances when posterior mesh only was used vs when anterior/posterior mesh was placed, although this difference was not significant. Interestingly, there was tearing of the vaginal wall or partial separation of mesh/sutures attachments to the vagina noted in 3 specimens.

Conclusions

This study showed no differences in the ability of the cervix (after supracervical hysterectomy) compared with the vaginal cuff (after total hysterectomy) to resist downward traction of successive weights after ASC. Clinical trials are necessary to correlate these findings with prolapse recurrence rates and patient satisfaction following these procedures.
BrainImageR: Spatiotemporal gene set analysis referencing the human brain
Authors: Linker Sara B. , Hsu Jonathan , Pfaff Adela , Amatya Debha , Ko Shu-Meng , Voter Sarah , Wong Quinn , Gage Fred H.
Published: December 2017

RATIONALE

Neurological molecular analyses such as transcriptomics, epigenetics, and genome-wide association studies must be assessed in the context of the human brain in order to generate biologically meaningful inferences. It is often difficult to access primary human brain tissue; therefore, approximations are made using in vitro modeling or by identifying disease-associated genes from DNA extracted from blood. Gene sets from these studies are then compared to the post-mortem human brain to provide an assessment of the brain region and the developmental time point that a gene set is most closely associated with. However, most analyses of postmortem datasets are achieved by building new computational tools each time in-house, which can cause discrepancies from study to study, indicating that the field is in need of a user-friendly suite of tools to examine spatiotemporal expression with respect to the postmortem brain. Such a tool will be of use to the molecular interrogation of neurological and psychiatric disorders, with direct advantages for the disease-modeling and human genetics communities.

RESULTS

We have developed brainImageR, an R package that calculates both the spatial and temporal association of a dataset with post-mortem gene expression data from the Allen Brain Atlas. BrainImageR performs a robust analysis of gene set enrichment to identify enriched anatomical regions, provides a global high-resolution visualization of these enrichments across the human brain, and predicts when in developmental time the sample is most closely matched to, a task that has become increasingly important in the field of in vitro neuronal modeling. These functionalities of brainImageR enable a quick and efficient characterization of a given dataset across normal human brain development.

AVAILABILITY AND IMPLEMENTATION

BrainImageR is released under the Creative Commons CC BY-SA 4.0 license and the source code can be downloaded through github at https://github.com/saralinker/brainImageR.

CONTACT

gage@salk.edu
Alleviation of Al toxicity by Si is associated with the formation of Al-Si complexes in root tissues of sorghum
Authors: Kopittke Peter M. , Gianoncelli Alessandra , Kourousias George , Green Kathryn , McKenna Brigid A.
Published: December 2017

Silicon is reported to reduce the toxic effects of Al on root elongation but the in planta mechanism by which this occurs remains unclear. Using seedlings of soybean (Glycine max) and sorghum (Sorghum bicolor), we examined the effect of up to 2 mM Si on root elongation rate (RER) in Al-toxic nutrient solutions. Synchrotron-based low energy X-ray fluorescence (LEXRF) was then used for the in situ examination of the distribution of Al and Si within cross-sections cut from the apical tissues of sorghum roots. The addition of Si potentially increased RER in Al-toxic solutions, with RER being up to ca. 0.3 mm h−1 (14 %) higher for soybean and ca. 0.2 mm h−1 (17 %) higher for sorghum relative to solutions without added Si. This improvement in RER could not be attributed to a change in Al-chemistry of the bulk nutrient solution, nor was it due to a change in the concentration of Al within the apical (0-10 mm) root tissues. Using LEXRF to examine sorghum, it was demonstrated that in roots exposed to both Al and Si, much of the Al was co-located with Si in the mucigel and outer apoplast. These observations suggest that Si reduces the toxicity of Al in planta through formation of Al-Si complexes in mucigel and outer cellular tissues, thereby decreasing the binding of Al to the cell wall where it is known to inhibit wall loosening as required for cell elongation.
Distinct SoxB1 networks are required for naïve and primed pluripotency
Authors: Corsinotti Andrea , Wong Frederick C. K. , Tatar Tülin , Szczerbinska Iwona , Halbritter Florian , Colby Douglas , Gogolok Sabine , Pantier Raphaël , Liggat Kirsten , Mirfazeli Elham S. , Hall-Ponsele Elisa , Mullin Nicholas , Wilson Valerie , Chambers Ian
Published: December 2017

Deletion ofSox2from embryonic stem cells (ESCs) causes trophectodermal differentiation. While this can be prevented by enforced expression of the related SOXB1 proteins, SOX1 or SOX3, the roles of SOXB1 proteins in epiblast stem cell (EpiSC) pluripotency are unknown. Here we show thatSox2can be deleted from EpiSCs with impunity. This is due to a shift in the balance of SoxB1 expression in EpiSCs, which have decreased Sox2 and increased Sox3 compared to ESCs. Consistent with functional redundancy,Sox3can also be deleted from EpiSCs without eliminating self-renewal. However, deletion of bothSox2andSox3prevents self-renewal. The overall SOXB1 levels in ESCs affect differentiation choices: neural differentiation ofSox2heterozygous ESCs is compromised, while increased SOXB1 levels divert the ESC to EpiSC transition towards neural differentiation. Therefore, optimal SOXB1 levels are critical for each pluripotent state and for cell fate decisions during exit from naïve pluripotency.
Transcription factor SmWRKY1 positively promote the biosynthesis of tanshinones inSalvia miltiorrhiza
Authors: Cao Wenzhi , Wang Yao , Shi Min , Hao Xiaolong , Zhao Weiwei , Wang Yu , Ren Jie , Kai Guoyin
Published: December 2017

Tanshinones, one group of bioactive diterpenes, were widely used in the treatment of cardiovascular diseases. WRKYs play important roles in plant metabolism, but their regulation mechanism in S. miltiorrhiza remains elusive. In this study, one WRKY transcription factor SmWRKY1 was isolated and characterized from S. miltiorrhiza. Multiple sequence alignment and phylogenetic tree analysis showed SmWRKY1 shared high homology with other plant WRKYs such as CrWRKY1. SmWRKY1 were predominantly expressed in leaves and stems, and was responsive to salicylic acid (SA), methyl jasmonate (MeJA) and nitric oxide (NO) treatment. Subcellular localization analysis found that SmWRKY1 was localized in the nucleus. Over-expression of SmWRKY1 significantly elevated the transcripts of genes involved in MEP pathway especially 1-deoxy-D-xylulose 5-phosphate synthase (SmDXS) and 1-deoxy-D-xylulose 5-phosphate reductoisomerase (SmDXR), resulted in over 6 folds increase in tanshinones production in transgenic lines (up to 13.731mg/g dry weight (DW)) compared with the control lines. Dual-luciferase (Dual-LUC) assay showed that SmWRKY1 can positively regulate SmDXR expression by binding to its promoter. Our work revealed that SmWRKY1 participated in the regulation of tanshinones biosynthesis and acted as a positive regulator through activating SmDXR in the MEP pathway, thus discloses a new insight to further excavate the regulation mechanism of tanshinones biosynthesis.
pysster: Classification of Biological Sequences by Learning Sequence and Structure Motifs with Convolutional Neural Networks
Authors: Budach Stefan , Marsico Annalisa
Published: December 2017

Convolutional neural networks (CNNs) have been shown to perform exceptionally well in a variety of tasks, including biological sequence classification. Available implementations, however, are usually optimized for a particular task and difficult to reuse. To enable researchers to utilize these networks more easily we implemented pysster, a Python package for training CNNs on biological sequence data. Sequences are classified by learning sequence and structure motifs and the package offers an automated hyper-parameter optimization procedure and options to visualize learned motifs along with information about their positional and class enrichment. The package runs seamlessly on CPU and GPU and provides a simple interface to train and evaluate a network with a handful lines of code. Using an RNA A-to-I editing data set and CLIP-seq binding site sequences we demonstrate that pysster classifies sequences with higher accuracy than other methods and is able to recover known sequence and structure motifs.

Availability

pysster is freely available at https://github.com/budach/pysster.

Contact

budach@molgen.mpg.de, marsico@molgen.mpg.de
A dispute in the making
Authors: Perkiss Stephanie , Moerman Lee
Published: December 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to present a forward-looking case of climate change induced displacement in the Pacific Islands as a multidimensional phenomenon with a moral dimension. Instead of seeking to provide a definitive solution to an imagined problem, the authors have identified the complexity of the situation through an exploration of the accounts of place and accountability for the consequences of displacement.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper explores displacement from a sociological perspective. The authors use the sociology of worth (SOW) to anchor explicit and competing moral claims in an evaluation regime that considers questions of justice and the common good. The public accounts of place in the Pacific Islands provide the empirical material for a consideration of a situated crisis. While SOW is generally adopted for current crises or disputes, this study explores the pre-immigrant story and a future case of displacement. Bauman’s (1998, 2012) perspective on globalization is used to narrate the local conditions of place in a global context as reflective of a dominant social order.

Findings

Since place is a multidimensional concept and experienced according to various states of being including physical, functional, spiritual and emotion or feeling, displacement is also felt at a multidimensional level. Thus to provide an account of a lived experience and to foster a moral accountability for climate induced displacement requires a consideration of multiple accounts and compromises that need to be considered.

Research limitations/implications

As with the majority of accounting research that is concerned with the suffering of those at a distance, we too must tackle this conundrum in a meaningful way. As members of a society that is the largest per capita emitter of greenhouse gas, how do we speak for our drowning neighbors? The paper concludes with some insights from Boltanski (1999) as a way forward.

Originality/value

The paper presents a forward-looking scenario of a looming crisis from a sociological perspective. It adds to the literature on alternative accounts by using stories, media, government reports and other sources to holistically build a narrative grounded in a current and imaged social order.
Failed crisis communication: the Northern Rock Bank case
Authors: Liff Roy , Wahlström Gunnar
Published: December 2017

Purpose

Although granted funding from government agencies, Britain’s Northern Rock (NR) Bank experienced a depositors’ bank run in 2007. The purpose of this paper is to explore bank managers’ and the Triparties’ communications, in their failed attempt to reassure depositors during the crisis.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper is based on content analysis of information given to depositors by bank managers and the Triparties via mass media. The theoretical concepts of rituals and masking were utilized.

Findings

Results suggest that nonfinancial reporting supersedes financial reporting. Rather than hidden losses, bank regulators’ and politicians’ discussions of emergency funding for NR was the crucial incident signaling “something going on.” Even positive statements by prominent organizational actors may have signaled serious problems that compromised NR’s “business as usual” stance.

Practical implications

Collective action manifested in a bank run is triggered by reasons other than numbers in financial reporting. The research results indicate a need to consider how regulatory authorities act during financial crises.

Originality/value

Previous studies concluded that sensegivers must be consistent in framing communication to sensemakers. Sensemaking requires that the crisis communication is also consistent in the sensemakers’ framing. Because it is difficult for sensegivers to reshape the collective sensemakers’ frame, successful crisis communication requires that sensegivers change their communication to match the sensemakers’ frame, including symbolic actions. Additionally, a bank run is characterized first by loss of trust in financial reporting; second, in nonfinancial reporting; and, finally, in the sensegiving actor: a domino effect.
Plasticity-based training: building the ultimate learning organization
Authors: Merzenich Michael
Published: December 2017

Purpose

This paper aims to introduce talent development professionals to the most recent breakthroughs in the science of neuroplasticity and how those breakthroughs directly apply to building better brains and a true learning organization. Brain plasticity is the ability of the brain to change chemically, physically, and functionally based on sensory and other inputs.

Design/methodology/approach

Viewpoint based on literature review and author’s own neuroscientific research over the past 30 years.

Findings

Gains can be made on standard measures of processing speed, attention, memory, and executive function and those changes generalize to standard measures of mood and affect the real-world activities. Benefits, seen in experiments over the past few years for peak sports performance, are now being applied in the workplace

Practical implications

It is hard to think of any job, where a faster and more accurate brain would not help.

Originality/value

Many learning and development professionals are not yet aware of the health and performance benefits of plasticity-based training. This paper provides summarized evidence of its efficacy for individuals and organizations.
Application of discrete Fourier transform to inverse heat conduction problem regularization
Authors: Frąckowiak Andrzej , Ciałkowski Michał
Published: December 2017

Purpose

This paper aims to present the Cauchy problem for the Laplace’s equation for profiles of gas turbine blades with one and three cooling channels. The distribution of heat transfer coefficient and temperature on the outer boundary of the blade are known. On this basis, the temperature on inner surfaces of the blade (the walls of cooling channels) is determined.

Design/methodology/approach

Such posed inverse problem was solved using the finite element method in the domain of the discrete Fourier transform (DFT).

Findings

Calculations indicate that the regularization in the domain of the DFT enables obtaining a stable solution to the inverse problem. In the example under consideration, problems with reconstruction constant temperature, assumed on the outer boundary of the blade, in the vicinity of the trailing and leading edges occurred.

Originality/value

The application of DFT in connection with regularization is an original achievement presented in this study.