bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Realist Theory
Authors: Su John J.
Published: May 2017

Within Western philosophy realism refers to the twin propositions that the world exists independently of the beliefs and perceptions of any given individual and that our languages and theories have the capacity to describe that world more or less accurately. Realism as a philosophical position has existed for more than 2,000 years, but within contemporary literary theory it tends to refer to a set of related theories that emerged in the 1990s as a critical response to the dominance of postmodernism in the humanities and social sciences. These more recent versions of realism – sometimes referred to as “postpositivist realism” in the United States and “critical realism” in Great Britain – share a sense that the epistemological skepticism identified with postmodernism is philosophically unfounded and politically debilitating. The most significant version of realist theory was formulated by scholars associated with the Future of Minority Studies Research Project, who argued that the critique of objectivity and truth by postmodern theories often undermines the experiences of minorities as significant sources of cultural and political knowledge. Initially drawing on philosophers of science including Hilary Putnam and Richard Boyd, and more indirectly on the political philosophy of Karl Marx, scholars of realist theory have attempted to provide a theory that contributes to progressive social struggles.
Romance
Authors: Frantz Sarah S. G.
Published: May 2017

“Romance” refers to the mass‐market popular fiction written primarily by and for women that constitutes 50 percent of the American paperback fiction market. It typically revolves around a central romantic relationship, usually between a hero and a heroine, and requires an emotionally uplifting and optimistic ending. All of these considerations – its popularity, its optimism, its peculiarly feminine status – have relegated romance to the status of a critically scorned literature that is only beginning to receive sustained literary and cultural analysis.
R
orty,
R
ichard
Authors: Taubeneck Steven
Published: May 2017

Richard Rorty (1931–2007) was internationally one of the most controversial and influential philosophers from the period after 1945. Though he started his career in Anglo‐American analytic philosophy, Rorty began to turn against this tradition with his 1967 publication entitled
The Linguistic Turn: Recent Essays in Philosophical Method
. Over the next 40 years he broadened his critique of analytic philosophy to the professionalization of philosophy in general, until in his 2007 book,
Philosophyas Cultural Politics
, he argued for a reorientation of the discipline to make it relevant to “cultural politics.” Rorty's transformation of philosophy into literature amounts to a radical call for far‐reaching cultural change.
Routinization and Rationalization
Authors: Sica Alan
Published: May 2017

The term “routinization” and the alternative designation “rationalization” are used by social scientists to refer to the systematic removal from modern social and economic life of the unpredictable, unique, uncharted, unknown, or serendipitous. This process, often associated specifically with the rise and spread of capitalism, has been a defining goal of the Western intellectual, scientific, and technological elites since Francis Bacon, Rene Descartes, Galileo, and Newton established their competing versions of “scientific method” in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. There are plenty of data indicating that ordinary people, even in the “advanced” countries, still remain firmly attached to premodern notions, like the existence of gods, angels, and an afterlife, beliefs that would have puzzled even the earliest modern scientists. But for the cultural leaders, those who created industrialization, internationalization, and a sense of what secular cosmopolitanism can mean if fully developed, it has become an article of faith that deleting factors extraneous to the success of desired processes is essential in guaranteeing forward motion, however defined.
Science Studies
Authors: Restivo Sal , Croissant Jennifer
Published: May 2017

Science studies is a field of inquiry and criticism that treats science itself as an institution and practice to be interpreted within a social context. As a specific, emergent field, science studies owes its origins to a network of scholars with a primarily sociological orientation. However, more recent analyses of science, which emphasize its textual character (i.e., its character as a meaningful signifying system that requires interpretation), constitute a turning point in science studies that stakes out a new terrain of study that merges science studies with literary theory and cultural studies. The original science studies movement began to crystallize in the late 1960s. The earlycenters of this development were at the University of Sussex in the United Kingdom, where the emphasis was on science policy and society, and the University of Edinburgh, where the focus was on theoretical and research agendas for studying science as a social institution and social construction. The Sussex program, founded by Christopher Freeman, was known as SPRU (Science and Technology Policy Research at the University of Sussex). Freeman, a distinguished economist, was awarded the J. D. Bernal Prize by the Society for Social Studies of Science in 1987 (see Freeman 2008).
S
immel,
G
eorg
Authors: Scaff Lawrence A.
Published: May 2017

Georg Simmel (1858–1918) was an influential social theorist, sociologist, and philosopher whose work was concerned with the processes and forms of social differentiation, stratification, group formation, and conflict. He wrote widely on topics in philosophy, art, literature, economics, and sociology; his work on women and culture and on the dynamics of cultural change is particularly important to cultural studies. His books and essays addressed major figures like Kant, Goethe, Schopenhauer, and Nietzsche; artists like Rembrandt, Rodin, and Böcklin; and themes as varied as the philosophy of history, the nature of religious belief, and methods of sociological inquiry. At the University of Berlin he introduced the first sociology courses and became famous for his lectures. His two major works,
The Philosophy of Money
(1978 [1900]) and
Sociology
(1908), were milestones of modern thought. With the publication of his 24‐volume collected works, the
Georg Simmel Gesamtausgabe
(from 1989), we have begun to appreciate the extraordinary range, depth, and originality of his contributions to social and cultural theory and the understanding of modernity.
S
obchack,
V
ivian
Authors: Redmond Sean
Published: May 2017

Vivian Sobchack (b. 1940) is Emeritus Professor of Critical Studies in the Department of Film, Television and Digital Media, and former Associate Dean of the School of Theater, Film and Television at the University of California, Los Angeles. Her groundbreaking work on the carnality of the screen and perceptual, intersubjective affect, has led to a resurgence in employing phenomenology to understand the relationship between film/video and the viewer. Her essays have appeared in
Science Fiction Film and Television, Camera Obscura, Film Comment, Quarterly Review of Film and Video, Body & Society, Film Quarterly, Senses of Cinema
, and
History and Theory
. She was the first woman elected president of the Society for Cinema and Media Studies and was awarded its Distinguished Service Award in 2005. She sits on the Board of Directors of the American Film Institute.
Sports Studies
Authors: Tucker Terrence
Published: May 2017

Sports studies is an emerging, interdisciplinary field that examines the history, impact, and role of athletics in societies. Employing primarily sociological, psychological, and anthropological analyses, sports studies interrogates how sports form identities in relation not only to society's constructions of competition, health, and entertainment, but also to economics, politics, and nationhood. Steve Pope notes, “Prior to the 1940s, most scholars ignored the history of sport because most of them considered it a frivolous anecdotal research interest that added little to the coherent national (political) narratives” (1997: 1). Since then, however, the study of sport has revealed its progression, in the West at least, from entertaining the ruling and upper classes, to bringing small communities together, to acting as a national obsession. Critics like Eric Dunning view sport in ancient Greece and Rome as a mechanism by means of which individuals were trained for war and which was based on “a warrior ethos rather than an ethos of fairness” (2004: 10). The study of sport in ancient Greece and Rome began by examining how sport adapted to the particulars of local geography and custom and eventually reflected national desires and anxieties. Sports studies has developed in response to the development of modern sports as a space where nations can be seen to infuse their cultures with ideas of fairness within specific national and ideological precepts. The study of sports in medieval Europe, of the popularity of golf and horse racing among the ruling classes in Britain, and of the emergence of more recent sports in the nineteenth century has given us a greater understanding of these respective cultures. In the 1950s, historians like Rickard Bettes began examining the opportunities for the masses to participate in sports. Thus critical study moved from the study of sports as spectacle and entertainment for the masses in the direction of participation by the masses. Mass participation, according to critics, provided a renewed focus on ideas of health and exercise in addition to the traditional relationship of sport with industrialization and technology. Sport, then, became a mode of transmitting specific moral and ideological tenets. So Clifford Putney, in
Muscular Christianity
(2001), views Christian support of health and sport through the establishment of the Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) as an opportunity to build character and to convey Christian ideals of goodness and care of the body provided by God.
S
uvin,
D
arko
Authors: Maus Derek C.
Published: May 2017

Darko Ronald Suvin is among the most influential scholars of science fiction in the late twentieth century. Over the course of a five‐decade career, Suvin has sought to transform dismissive critical attitudes toward science fiction, contending not only that science fiction is a venerable tradition dating back to classical antiquity, but also that it is unique among literary genres in expressing visions of other worlds that depart (often radically) from accepted reality, while still retaining the capacity to comment on and ultimately to alter that reality. Because of this sociological function, Suvin values science fiction above other literary forms, such as myth, fantasy, and fairy tales, with which it has sometimes been linked.
Visual Studies/Visual Culture/Visual Culture Studies
Authors: Morra Joanne , Smith Marquard
Published: May 2017

Visual culture studies is a contemporary, emerging interdisciplinary field of inquiry that employs a variety of approaches to analyze and interpret visual images. Visual culture studies does not designate a discipline so much as what John Walker and Sarah Chaplin call “a hybrid, an inter‐ or multi‐disciplinary enterprise formed as a consequence of a convergence of, or borrowing from, a variety of disciplines and methodologies” (1997: 1). Visual culture studies borrows from many disciplines in the arts and humanities, such as art history, cultural studies, media studies, literary criticism, feminism, queer studies, postcolonial theory, anthropology, and sociology. As a result of these borrowings or convergences, visual culture studies offers us a variety of interpretive ways of engaging with our past and present visual cultures – including semiotics, Marxism, feminism, historiography, social history, psychoanalysis, queer theory, deconstruction, postcolonial studies, ethnography, and museology. From these interpretive strategies, visual culture studies enables a wider range of analyses. It sustains investigations that are concerned with the production, circulation, and consumption of images; the changing nature of subjectivity; the ways in which we visualize or reflect upon or represent the world to ourselves; what Irit Rogoff (1998) has called “viewing apparatuses,” which include our ways of seeing and practices of looking, knowing, and doing, and even sometimes our misunderstandings and unsettling curiosity in imagining the as yet unthought.
Multifunctional Molecular Beacon Micelles for Intracellular mRNA Imaging and Synergistic Therapy in Multidrug‐Resistant Cancer Cells
Authors: Zhang Ruili , Gao Shi , Wang Zhongliang , Han Da , Liu Lin , Ma Qingjie , Tan Weihong , Tian Jie , Chen Xiaoyuan
Published: May 2017

Multidrug resistance (MDR) resulting from overexpression of P‐glycoprotein (Pgp) transporters increases the drug efflux and thereby limits the chemotherapeutic efficacy. It is desirable to administer both an MDR1 gene silencer and a chemotherapeutic agent in a sequential way to generate a synergistic therapeutic effect in multidrug‐resistant cancer cells. Herein, an anti‐MDR1 molecular beacon (MB)‐based micelle (a‐MBM) nanosystem is rationally designed. It is composed of a diacyllipid core densely packed with an MB corona. One of Pgp‐transportable agents, doxorubicin (DOX), is encapsulated in the hydrophobic core of the micelle and in the stem sequence of MB. The a‐MBM‐DOX nanosystem shows an efficient self‐delivery, enhanced enzymatic stability, excellent target selectivity, and high drug‐loading capacity. With its relatively high enzymatic stability, a‐MBM‐DOX initially facilitates intracellular MDR1 mRNA imaging to distinguish multidrug‐resistant and non‐multidrug‐resistant cells and subsequently downregulates the MDR1 gene expression owing to an antisense effect. After that, the MB corona is degraded, destroying the micellar nanostructure and releasing DOX, which result in a high accumulation of DOX in OVCAR8/ADR cells and a high chemotherapeutic efficacy because of successful restoration of drug sensitivity. This micelle approach has the potential for both visualizing MDR1 mRNA and overcoming MDR in a sequential and synergistic way.
XMCD and XMCD‐PEEM Studies on Magnetic‐Field‐Assisted Self‐Assembled 1D Nanochains of Spherical Ferrite Particles
Authors: Zhang Wen , Wong Ping Kwan Johnny , Zhang Dong , Yue Jinjin , Kou Zhaoxia , van der Laan Gerrit , Scholl Andreas , Zheng Jian‐Guo , Lu Zuhong , Zhai Ya
Published: May 2017

Quasi‐1D nanochains of spherical magnetic ferrite particles with a homogeneous particle size of ≈200 nm and a micrometer‐sized chain length are fabricated via a self‐assembly method under an external magnetic field. This assisting magnetic field (Hassist), applied during synthesis, significantly modifies the distribution of the Fe2+Oh, Fe3+Td, and Fe3+Ohcations in the chains, as demonstrated by X‐ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD) combined with theoretical analysis. This provides direct evidence of the nontrivial role of external synthetic conditions for defining the crystal chemistry of nanoscale ferrites and in turn their magnetic properties, providing an extra degree of freedom for intentional control over the performances of 1D magnetic nanodevices for various applications. Magnetic imaging, performed via XMCD in photoemission electron microscopy, further shows the possibility of creating and trapping a series of adjacent magnetic domain walls in a single chain, suggesting that there is great application potential for these nanochains in 1D magnetic nanodevices, as determined by field‐ or current‐driven domain wall motions. Practical control over the magnetic properties of the nanochains is also achieved by extrinsic dopants of cobalt and zinc, which are observed to occupy the ferrite ionic sites in a selective manner.
Exploiting the Properties of Ti‐Doped CVD‐Grown Diamonds for the Assembling of Electrodes
Authors: Tamburri Emanuela , Carcione Rocco , Vitale Francesco , Valguarnera Alessandra , Macis Salvatore , Lucci Massimiliano , Terranova Maria Letizia
Published: May 2017

A hybrid chemical vapor deposition (CVD)‐powder flowing technique specifically developed in lab has been employed to produce high‐quality polycrystalline diamond layers containing Ti inclusions. Morphology, structural features, and surface composition of nanocomposite diamond‐based samples produced by different growth times have been analyzed by scanning electron microscopy, Raman and Auger spectroscopy, respectively. The CVD methodology adopted for the Ti incorporation in the diamond lattice does not perturb the crystalline quality of the diamond matrix, therefore maintaining the outstanding properties of the C‐sp3 phase. The functional properties of the nanocomposite layers have been tested by nanoindentation and I–V measurements. The electrochemical performance of the diamond/Ti electrodes is evaluated by performing cyclic voltammetry in different media, namely, acidic, neutral, and basic aqueous solutions, and by estimating the rate constant of heterogeneous electron transfer to diamond surface for the ferro/ferricyanide redox couple. The rather good electrochemical performances, the mechanical strength, and the chemical inertness of the Ti‐doped diamond electrodes produced by the CVD approach, comply with the whole set of technological requirements, such as robustness, long durability, and biocompatibility, required for use in hostile environments or in biological systems.
Low‐Temperature Thermal CVD of Superblack Carbon Nanotube Coatings
Authors: Basheer Hameeda Jagalur , Pachot Charlotte , Lafont Ugo , Devaux Xavier , Bahlawane Naoufal
Published: May 2017

The deposition of carbon nanotube (CNT) coatings via thermal chemical vapor deposition (CVD) is intensively reported. The surface acidity, chemical nature of the catalytic nanoparticles, and the carbon precursor are highly inter‐related key parameters. Furthermore, reducing the typical high‐growth temperature requires the implementation of toxic and hazardous organic precursors. In this study, the growth of CNT coatings is demonstrated using a single‐step CVD process in which magnesium oxides, material with enhanced basicity, and nanoparticles of cobalt are codeposited. This deposit catalyzes simultaneously the decomposition of ethanol to spark the growth of CNTs. The deposition is successively performed at 330–500 °C. Grown CNTs below 400 °C feature a high defect concentration and large diameters, 20 nm, relative to those obtained at ≥400 °C with no apparent defects and diameter of 12 nm. In terms of optical properties, films grown at ≥400 °C reflect less than 0.5% of light in the UV–vis–near IR, and exhibit a Lambertian behavior. Furthermore, the bidirectional reflectance distribution function measurements reveal identical optical properties irrespective of the underlying substrate. Therefore, the process holds a great potential for applications involving stray light reduction.
Plasmonic Enhancement in the Fluorescence of Organic and Biological Molecules by Photovoltaic Tweezing Assembly
Authors: Elvira Iris , Muñoz‐Martínez Juan F. , Jubera Mariano , García‐Cabañes Angel , Bella José L. , Haro‐González Patricia , Díaz‐García María A. , Agulló‐López Fernando , Carrascosa Mercedes
Published: May 2017

The potential of photovoltaic tweezers to produce plasmonic platforms for fluorescence enhancement of organic or biological molecules is demonstrated. 1D and 2D patterns of silver nanoparticles are produced on the surface of LiNbO3:Fe substrates using this photovoltaic tool, which allows depositing in parallel a large number of particles in accordance with imposed 1D and 2D light profiles. The nanoparticle patterns reveal a variety of plasmonic features whose resonances cover a broad spectral range and are able to produce efficient fluorescence enhancement. First, a remarkable average enhancement factor of ten is measured for Disperse Red 1 organic molecules deposited on the patterns. Clear enhancements are also obtained from fluorescein labeled biological molecules (DNA and asynthetic peptide). Finally, the possibility of using the photoelectrically generated metallic patterns with other substrates is also demonstrated by enhancement experiments for which the nanoparticle pattern is transferred to a non‐photovoltaic substrate.
Ar–ArF Self‐Assembly of Star‐Shaped Second‐Order Nonlinear Optical Chromophores Achieving Large Macroscopic Nonlinearities
Authors: Li Zhong'an , Chen Pengyu , Xie Yujun , Li Zhen , Qin Jingui
Published: May 2017

In this communication, a new series of multibranched second‐order nonlinear optical (NLO) chromophores T1–T3 are prepared using triphenylamine moiety as the core to link different number of pentafluorobenzene groups modified chromophores. Upon increasing the number of branched chromophore arms attached to the triphenylamine core, the NLO coefficients (d33) can be significantly improved accordingly, due to an integrated effect of enhanced site isolation and Ar–ArF self‐assembly. As a result, the star‐shaped T3 consisting of three‐branched chromophore arms realizes an impressive d33 value, up to 191.8 pm V−1, making it an excellent potential material candidate for second‐order NLO applications.
Mild C(sp3)−H Alkylation of 8‐Methylquinolines with α,β‐Unsaturated Carbonyl Compounds by Rhodium(III) Catalysis
Authors: Han Shengnan , Ma Wenbo , Zhang Zhao , Liu Lei , Tang Mengyao , Li Jie
Published: May 2017

A straightforward approach to the synthesis of γ‐quinolyl carbonyl compounds has been developed by a rhodium(III)‐catalyzed C(sp3)−H alkylation of 8‐methylquinolines with conjugated C=C multiple bonds. Remarkably, this C(sp3)−H functionalization proceeds under mild reaction conditions, obviates the need for external oxidants, features high atom‐economy, ample substrate scope and wide functional group tolerance. Mechanistic studies provided strong support for an irreversible C(sp3)−H bond activation.
Identification of β‐chain of FoF1‐ATPase in apoptotic cell population induced by Microplitis bicoloratus bracovirus and its role in the development of Spodoptera litura
Authors: Kou Tian‐Chao , Liu Yue‐Tong , Li Ming , Yang Yang , Zhang Wei , Cui Ji‐Hui , Zhang Xue‐Wen , Dong Shu‐Mei , Xu Sha , You Shan , Yu Dong‐Shuai , Pang Zun‐Yu , Luo Kai‐Jun
Published: May 2017

Two physiological changes of Spodoptera litura parasitized by Microplitis bicoloratus are hemocyte‐apoptosis and retarded immature development. β‐Chain of FoF1‐ATPase was found from a S. litura transcriptome. It belongs to a conserved P‐loop NTPase superfamily, descending from a common ancestor of Lepidopteran clade. However, the characterization of β‐chain of ATPase in apoptotic cells and its involvement in development remain unknown. Here, the ectopic expression and endogenous FoF1‐ATPase β‐chain occurred on S. litura cell membrane: in vivo, at the late stage of apoptotic hemocyte, endogenous FoF1‐ATPase β‐chain was stably expressed during M. bicoloratus larva development from 4 to 7 days post‐parasitization; in vitro, at an early stage of pre‐apoptotic Spli221 cells by infecting with M. bicoloratus bracovirus particles, the proteins were speedily recover expression. Furthermore, endogenous FoF1‐ATPase β‐chain was localized on the apoptotic cell membrane. RNA interference (RNAi) of FoF1‐ATPase β‐chain led to significantly decreased head capsule width. This suggested that FoF1‐ATPase β‐chain positively regulated the development of S. litura. The RNAi effect on the head capsule width was enhanced with parasitism. Our research found that FoF1‐ATPase β‐chain was expressed and localized on the cell membrane in the apoptotic cells, and involved in the development of S. litura.
Task complexity and difficulty in music information retrieval
Authors: Hu Xiao , Kando Noriko
Published: May 2017

There has been little research on task complexity and difficulty in music information retrieval (MIR), whereas many studies in the text retrieval domain have found that task complexity and difficulty have significant effects on user effectiveness. This study aimed to bridge the gap by exploring i) the relationship between task complexity and difficulty; ii) factors affecting task difficulty; and iii) the relationship between task difficulty, task complexity, and user search behaviors in MIR. An empirical user experiment was conducted with 51 participants and a novel MIR system. The participants searched for 6 topics across 3 complexity levels. The results revealed that i) perceived task difficulty in music search is influenced by task complexity, user background, system affordances, and task uncertainty and enjoyability; and ii) perceived task difficulty in MIR is significantly correlated with effectiveness metrics such as the number of songs found, number of clicks, and task completion time. The findings have implications for the design of music search tasks (in research) or use cases (in system development) as well as future MIR systems that can detect task difficulty based on user effectiveness metrics.
Morphologic characterization of residual DNA methylation in the gastric mucosa after Helicobacter pylori eradication
Authors: Tahara Sayumi , Tahara Tomomitsu , Tuskamoto Tetsuya , Horiguchi Noriyuki , Kawamura Tomohiko , Okubo Masaaki , Ishizuka Takamitsu , Nagasaka Mitsuo , Nakagawa Yoshihito , Shibata Tomoyuki , Kuroda Makoto , Ohmiya Naoki
Published: May 2017

Residual DNA methylation in the gastric mucosa after Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) eradication may have a role in gastric carcinogenesis. We examined the association between morphologic features and promoter methylation status of non‐neoplastic gastric mucosa especially after H. pylori eradication. A total of 140 gastric specimens from 99 participants who had at least 6 months of post‐eradication period were examined. The magnifying narrow‐band imaging (NBI) endoscopic feature of gastric mucosa was divided into two types: restored‐small, round pits, accompanied with honeycomb‐like subepithelial capillary networks; atrophic‐well‐demarcated oval or tubulovillous pits with clearly visible coiled or wavy vessels. Methylation status of five candidate genes (MYOD1, SLC16A12, IGF2, RORA, and PRDM5) were examined by bisulfite pyrosequencing. The atrophic type, informative endoscopic features of intestinal metaplasia, demonstrated higher methylation levels in all five genes compared to the restored type (all P < 0.0001). In the restored type, methylation levels were significantly lower among the samples with longer post‐eradication period (for all genes, P < 0.0001), which was not observed in atrophic type (for all genes, P > 0.1). Multivariate analysis demonstrated that atrophic type or presence of intestinal held an independent factor for hyper methylation (odds ratio: 24.69, 95% confidence interval: 6.95–87.76, P < 0.0001). The atrophic type by the magnifying NBI and presence of intestinal metaplasia are the morphologic characteristics of residual DNA methylation of after H. pylori eradication, regardless of the post‐eradication period and it might be considered as the epigenetic irreversible point with H. pylori eradication.
Longitudinal study of quality of life in advanced cancer patients on home parenteral nutrition
Authors: Cotogni Paolo , De Carli Luca , Passera Roberto , Amerio Maria Luisa , Agnello Elena , Fadda Maurizio , Ossola Marta , Monge Taira , De Francesco Antonella , Bozzetti Federico
Published: May 2017

Since there is little knowledge regarding the quality of life (QoL) of cancer patients on home parenteral nutrition (HPN), we planned a prospective, longitudinal, double‐center study to investigate the changes of QoL in these patients. One hundred and eleven adult cancer patients who were candidates for HPN following the indications of the European guidelines were consecutively enrolled. For QoL analysis, EORTC QLQ‐C30 questionnaires were filled at the HPN start and after 1, 2, 3, and 4 months, and scores changes over time were analyzed according to the univariate mixed‐effects linear model for repeated measures. Most patients had gastrointestinal cancers, were severely malnourished, and were in stage IV; two‐thirds were still receiving oncologic treatments. Median weight loss over 3 months and body mass index were 11.7% and 20.7, respectively. Median survival was 4.7 (1–42) months; 67 and 34% of patients survived 3 and 6 months, respectively. Global QoL, physical functioning, role functioning, emotional functioning, appetite loss, and fatigue scores had a statistically significant trend over time (P < 0.001, P < 0.001, P = 0.007, P < 0.001, P = 0.004, P = 0.022, respectively). At the univariate analyses, the determinants significantly associated with changes in trend over time for physical, role, and emotional functioning were oncologic treatments (P < 0.001, P = 0.014, P = 0.040, respectively) and for appetite loss they were weight loss and Karnofsky performance status (P = 0.003, P = 0.023, respectively). Global QoL, physical, role, and emotional functioning improved during HPN even in advanced cancer patients on oncologic treatments.
Ruthenium‐Catalyzed Enantioselective Hydrogenation/Lactonization of 2‐Acylarylcarboxylates: Direct Access to Chiral 3‐Substituted Phthalides
Authors: Lu Bin , Zhao Mengmeng , Ding Guangni , Xie Xiaomin , Jiang Lili , Ratovelomanana‐Vidal Virginie , Zhang Zhaoguo
Published: May 2017

Highly enantioselective tandem hydrogenation/lactonization of various 2‐acylarylcarboxylates including 2‐aroylarylcarboxylates were realized by using [RuCl(benzene)(S)‐SunPhos]Cl as the catalyst under mild reaction conditions. Excellent enantioselectivities (up to 99.6 % ee) and activities (S/C=1000) were obtained. This convenient and practical method enables a direct access to a series of highly optically pure 3‐substituted phthalides that are very important molecules as valuable pharmacological compounds and diversified synthons for medicinal chemistry. Moreover, a gram‐scale reaction was performed to further demonstrate the practicality of this approach.
CRISPR‐Cas
Authors: Tetsch Larissa , Böhm Hartmut , Hartung Markus
Published: May 2017

CRISPR‐Cas ist ein adaptives und vererbbares Immunsystem, mit dem sich Prokaryoten gegen invasive genetische Elemente wie Viren wehren. Es eignet sich aber auch hervorragend zur Manipulation von Genomen. Die Nuklease Cas9 wird durch eine Leit‐RNA zu einem bestimmten DNA‐Abschnitt geführt und fügt dort einen Doppelstrangbruch ein. Dieser wird durch ein zelleigenes Reparatursystem verknüpft, wobei Fehler entstehen, die das Gen zerstören. In unserem Experiment wird ein Knockout des stabil in eine menschliche Glioblastomzelllinie eingefügten, viralen Thymidinsynthase‐Gens durchgeführt. Da letzteres mit dem Gen des Grün Fluoreszierenden Proteins fusioniert ist, lässt sich der Erfolg des Experiments an der abnehmenden grünen Fluoreszenz verfolgen. Gleichzeitig fluoreszieren Zellen, die Cas9 produzieren, orange‐rot, da Cas9 immer zusammen mit dem Orange Fluoreszierenden Protein produziert wird. Aus grün wird rot
Corporate Social Responsibility Engagement as a Determinant of Bank Reputation: An Empirical Analysis
Authors: Dell'Atti Stefano , Trotta Annarita , Iannuzzi Antonia Patrizia , Demaria Federica
Published: May 2017

The relationships between sustainable behavior, firm reputation, and economic performance are significant issues that continue to become more important. Corporate reputation has important implications for economic performance while corporate social responsibility engagement is considered a key determinant of reputation. The aim of this study is to empirically test such relationships regarding the banking sector and for the sub‐prime crisis period (2008–2012). We apply our hypothesis to 75 large international banks using Reputation Institute and ASSET4 data and adopting a multiple econometric approach. Our initial results are encouraging and consistent with the existing literature: bank reputation is positively related to accounting performance and is negatively related to leverage and riskiness profiles. However, while a positive relationship between reputation and social performance exists, relationships between reputation, corporate governance, and environmental performance are always negative. We discuss these results by identifying related causes and by presenting avenues for future research. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment
Exploring the distribution of groundwater Crustacea (Copepoda and Ostracoda) to disentangle aquifer type features—A case study in the upper Tajo basin (Central Spain)
Authors: Iepure S. , Rasines‐Ladero R. , Meffe R. , Carreño F. , Mostaza D. , Sundberg A. , Di Lorenzo T. , Barroso J.L.
Published: May 2017

One of the most challenging questions in the assessment of groundwater ecosystem health is whether assemblages of groundwater biota can be used reliably as biomarkers. In this study, we aimed to (a) explore the diversity, distribution, and ecological composition of groundwater Crustacea, Copepoda, and Ostracoda communities from six aquifers in Central Spain and (b) relate the structure of the species assemblages to the aquifers' hydrogeological conditions, habitat features, and hydrochemistry. The datasets were simultaneously collected from 24 boreholes drilled in six unconfined aquifers from the upper part of the Tajo catchment. Our results show that the assemblages are primarily influenced by the specific hydrogeological conditions of the aquifer, determined by groundwater flow, supply of organic matter from the surface, and habitat features, whereas the aquifer's hydrochemistry has only a marginal effect. The assemblages from the Tertiary detrital aquifer were the most diverse, containing a mixture of stygobiont and nonstygobiont species distributed preferentially in the recharge area of the aquifer, characterized by medium hydraulic conductivity, high surface input and relatively high water renewal. The Quaternary alluvial aquifer type was found to have a moderate richness with several hyporheic dwellers, indicating an active surface/groundwater exchange with the adjacent stream channel. In contrast, the carbonate aquifer type was less diverse but markedly distinct owing to the high occurrence of stygobionts. Our results provide a step forward in exploring the groundwater biodiversity of aquifers in Spain and towards incorporating an ecological perspective into overall assessments of groundwater status.
Ecosystem consequences of plant genetic divergence with colonization of new habitat
Authors: Mueller Liam O. , Breza Lauren C. , Genung Mark A. , Giardina Christian P. , Stone Nathan E. , Sidak‐Loftis Lindsay C. , Busch Joseph D. , Wagner David M. , Bailey Joseph K. , Schweitzer Jennifer A.
Published: May 2017

When plants colonize new habitats altered by natural or anthropogenic disturbances, those individuals may encounter biotic and abiotic conditions novel to the species, which can cause plant functional trait divergence. Over time, site‐driven adaptation can give rise to population‐level genetic variation, with consequences for plant community dynamics and ecosystem processes. We used a series of 3000‐yr‐old, lava‐created forest fragments on the Island of Hawai`i to examine whether disturbance and subsequent colonization can lead to genetically differentiated populations, and where differentiation occurs, if there are ecosystem consequences of trait‐driven changes. These fragments are dominated by a single tree species, Metrosideros polymorpha (Myrtaceae) or ʻōhiʻa, which have been actively colonizing the surrounding lava flow created in 1858. To test our ideas about differentiation of genetically determined traits, we (1) created rooted cuttings of ʻōhiʻa individuals sampled from fragment interiors and open lava sites, raised these individuals in a greenhouse, and then used these cuttings to create a common garden where plant growth was monitored for three years; and (2) assessed genetic variation and made QST/FST comparisons using microsatellite repeat markers. Results from the greenhouse showed quantitative trait divergence in plant height and pubescence across plants sampled from fragment interior and matrix sites. Results from the subsequent common garden study confirmed that the matrix environment can select for individuals with 9.1% less shoot production and 17.3% higher leaf pubescence. We found no difference in molecular genetic variation indicating gene flow among the populations. The strongest QST level was greater than the FST estimate, indicating sympatric genetic divergence in growth traits. Tree height was correlated with ecosystem properties such as soil carbon and nitrogen storage, soil carbon turnover rates, and soil phosphatase activity, indicating that selection for growth traits will influence structure, function, and dynamics of developing ecosystems. These data show that divergence can occur on centennial timescales of early colonization.
Responses of bottlenose dolphins and harbor porpoises to impact and vibration piling noise during harbor construction
Authors: Graham Isla M. , Pirotta Enrico , Merchant Nathan D. , Farcas Adrian , Barton Tim R. , Cheney Barbara , Hastie Gordon D. , Thompson Paul M.
Published: May 2017

The development of risk assessments for the exposure of protected populations to noise from coastal construction is constrained by uncertainty over the nature and extent of marine mammal responses to man‐made noise. Stakeholder concern often focuses on the potential for local displacement caused by impact piling, where piles are hammered into the seabed. To mitigate this threat, use of vibration piling, where piles are shaken into place with a vibratory hammer, is often encouraged due to presumed impact reduction. However, data on comparative responses of cetaceans to these different noise sources are lacking. We studied the responses of bottlenose dolphins and harbor porpoises to both impact and vibration pile driving noise during harbor construction works in northeast Scotland, using passive acoustic monitoring devices to record cetacean activity and noise recorders to measure and predict received noise levels. Local abundance and patterns of occurrence of bottlenose dolphins were also compared with a five‐year baseline. The median peak‐to‐peak source level estimated for impact piling was 240 dB re 1 μPa (single‐pulse sound exposure level [SEL] 198 dB re 1 μPa2 s), and the r.m.s. source level for vibration piling was 192 dB re 1 μPa. Predicted received broadband SEL values 812 m from the piling site were markedly lower due to high propagation loss: 133.4 dB re 1 μPa2 s (impact) and 128.9 dB re 1 μPa2 s (vibration). Bottlenose dolphins and harbor porpoises were not excluded from sites in the vicinity of impact piling or vibration piling; nevertheless, some small effects were detected. Bottlenose dolphins spent a reduced period of time in the vicinity of construction works during both impact and vibration piling. The probability of occurrence of both cetacean species was also slightly less during periods of vibration piling. This work provides developers and managers with the first evidence of the comparative effects of vibration and impact piling on small cetaceans, enabling more informed risk assessments, policy frameworks, and mitigation plans. In particular, our results emphasize the need for better understanding of noise levels and behavioral responses to vibration piling before recommending its use to mitigate impact piling.
Governance in Shaky Societies: Experiences and lessons from Christchurch after the earthquakes
Authors: Bakema Melanie M. , Parra Constanza , McCann Philip , Dalziel Paul , Saunders Caroline
Published: May 2017

Disasters have the potential to shake societies and their governance systems not only temporarily, but often for years afterwards as well. Studying disaster governance through lenses of social–ecological systems can provide essential insights in disaster contexts, as disasters occur through the interactions between nature and societies. Drawing upon debates on environmental governance, we examine the interactions between different spatial and temporal levels of governance in the face of disasters. Our analysis is based on an in‐depth case study of Christchurch, New Zealand, in the aftermath of the 2010 and 2011 earthquakes. International experts usually regard Christchurch as an exemplary recovery process. However, frustration is widespread among people in the city as they call for a more socially inclusive process. These diverging views can be explained by the variety of challenges that the earthquakes pose on the society and the consequent different needs and wishes related to different temporal stages and geographical areas. Homogenous governance approaches for post‐disaster recovery for all stages and areas are therefore inadequate, calling for hybrid, more flexible and sustainable governance constellations. A social–ecological approach highlights the dynamic and complex interactions between nature and society, and the hybrid, multi‐level character of governance, which both shapes and is shaped by the behaviour and responses of citizens. Regarding hybrid governance as a social–ecological system can therefore help to better understand post‐disaster realities and support the design of tailored, time‐ and place‐specific governance systems aiming for enhanced resilience and sustainability. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment
Zinc‐Catalyzed Esterification of N‐β‐Hydroxyethylamides: Removal of Directing Groups under Mild Conditions
Authors: Nishii Yuji , Hirai Takahiro , Fernandez Sarah , Knochel Paul , Mashima Kazushi
Published: May 2017

Amide transformations involving C–N bond cleavage are recognized as difficult reactions owing to the inert nature of amides resulting from resonance. Accordingly, a strong inductive effect and geometrical distortion reasonably decrease the resonance stabilization to attenuate the C–N linkage. Although the conversion of such activated amides has been studied intensively, reaction systems for “unactivated” amides are underdeveloped. We herein report that a zinc(II) trifluoromethanesulfonate [Zn(OTf)2] catalyst achieves the esterification of a wide range of unactivated tertiary amides with the assistance of intramolecular acyl rearrangement. The reaction was applied to the one‐pot removal of various amide‐based directing groups under mild reaction conditions to afford the corresponding esters in high yields.
Impact of etiology and duration of pain on pharmacological treatment effects in painful polyneuropathy
Authors: Sindrup S. H. , Holbech J. , Demant D. , Finnerup N. B. , Bach F. W. , Jensen T. S.
Published: May 2017

Background

The pharmacological treatments for painful polyneuropathy have not changed much for more than a decade, and less than half of the patients obtain adequate pain relief with first line treatments. Therefore, patient‐specific factors which could predict drug response are searched for.

Methods

We analysed data from four published, randomized, controlled trials of drugs in painful polyneuropathy to see if diabetic etiology and duration of neuropathic pain had an impact on drug efficacy. The studies had a cross‐over design, and had nearly similar outcome recordings as well as a thorough baseline registration of symptoms, signs and quantitative sensory testing. 244 patient records of drug effect distributed over treatments with three antidepressants (imipramine, venlafaxine, escitalopram) and two anticonvulsants (pregabalin, oxcarbazepine) were analysed.

Results

Diabetes as etiology of polyneuropathy had no impact on the effect of antidepressants (imipramine, venlafaxine, escitalopram), but there was a significant interaction with treatment effect on anticonvulsants with better effects in diabetics (0.86 NRS points, p = 0.021) with most pronounced interaction for oxcarbazepine (1.47 NRS points, p = 0.032). There was an interaction between duration of neuropathic pain and treatment with antidepressants with better effect with duration less than 3 years (0.62 NRS points, p = 0.036), whereas anticonvulsants tended to work best with duration of pain for more than 3 years.

Conclusion

Despite the small sample size and limited number of drugs included this study suggests that diabetic etiology of polyneuropathy may impact on the efficacy of anticonvulsants, and duration of neuropathic pain may impact on the efficacy of antidepressants.

Significance

This study found that duration of pain appears to have an impact on the effect of antidepressants in neuropathic pain and that diabetes as etiology for painful polyneuropathy appears to influence pain relief obtained with anticonvulsants.
Defending Opioid Treatment Agreements: Disclosure, Not Promises
Authors: Rager Joshua B. , Schwartz Peter H.
Published: May 2017

In order to receive controlled pain medications for chronic non‐oncologic pain, patients often must sign a “narcotic contract” or “opioid treatment agreement” in which they promise not to give pills to others, use illegal drugs, or seek controlled medications from health care providers. In addition, they must agree to use the medication as prescribed and to come to the clinic for drug testing and pill counts. Patients acknowledge that if they violate the opioid treatment agreement (OTA), they may no longer receive controlled medications. OTAs have been widely implemented since they were recommended by multiple national bodies to decrease misuse and diversion of narcotic medications. But critics argue that OTAs are ethically suspect, if not unethical, and should be used with extreme care if at all. We agree that OTAs pose real dangers and must be implemented carefully. But we also believe that the most serious criticisms stem from a mistaken understanding of OTAs’ purpose and ethical basis.
The Anatomy of Research Scandals
Authors: Elliott Carl
Published: May 2017

Abstract

For the past two years, I have taught a seminar on medical research scandals. The syllabus looks like a highlight reel of exploitation and abuse: children fed plutonium‐laced breakfast cereal, prisoners dosed with the active ingredient in Agent Orange, mental patients given psychedelic drugs and massive electroconvulsive therapy before being sent into curare‐induced paralysis and a coma. I designed the seminar to crush the idealism of future physicians by illuminating the dark patterns that research scandals typically follow. The most recent scandal we examined happened to be one of the most lurid.