bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Screening for Tuberculosis in Health Care Workers: Experience in an Italian Teaching Hospital
Authors: Napoli Christian , Ferretti Filippo , Di Ninno Filippo , Orioli Riccardo , Marani Alessandra , Sarlo Maria Giuditta , Prestigiacomo Claudio , De Luca Assunta , Orsi Giovanni Battista
Published: February 2017

Health care workers (HCW) are particularly at risk of acquiring tuberculosis (TB), even in countries with low TB incidence. Therefore, TB screening in HCW is a useful prevention strategy in countries with both low and high TB incidence. Tuberculin skin test (TST) is widely used although it suffers of low specificity; on the contrary, the in vitro enzyme immunoassay tests (IGRA) show superior specificity and sensitivity but are more expensive. The present study reports the results of a three-year TB surveillance among HCW in a large teaching hospital in Rome, using TST (by standard Mantoux technique) and IGRA (by QuantiFERON-TB) as first- and second-level screening tests, respectively. Out of 2290 HCW enrolled, 141 (6.1%) had a positive TST; among them, 99 (70.2%) underwent the IGRA and 16 tested positive (16.1%). The frequency of HCW tested positive for TB seems not far from other experiences in low incidence countries. Our results confirm the higher specificity of IGRA, but, due to its higher cost, TST can be considered a good first level screening test, whose positive results should be further confirmed by IGRA before the patients undergo X-ray diagnosis and/or chemotherapy.
Protein Array-Based Detection of Proteins in Kidney Tissues from Patients with Membranous Nephropathy
Authors: Wang Shuqiang , Lu Yang , Hong Quan , Geng Xiaodong , Wang Xu , Zheng Wei , Song Chengcheng , Liu Chunling , Fan Meng , Xi Yue , Guo Mandi , Wu Di
Published: February 2017

Membranous nephropathy (MN) is an autoimmune inflammatory disease in which proteins related with plenty of biological processes play an important role. However, the role of these proteins in the pathogenesis of MN is still unclear. This study aimed to screen differential proteins in kidney tissue samples from MN patients by using protein arrays and determine the pathways involved in the pathogenesis of MN. This study first tested a quantitative protein array (QAH-INF-3) and two semiquantitative protein arrays (L-493 and L-507) with normal renal tissue and identified L-493 as the most appropriate assay to compare protein levels between MN tissues and normal control tissues. The L-493 array identified 66 differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) that may be associated with MN. The gene oncology (GO) and protein-protein interaction (PPI) analyses revealed several processes potentially involved in MN, including extracellular matrix disassembly and organization, cell adhesion, cell-cell signaling, cellular protein metabolic process, and immune response (P<0.05). We suggest that these different pathways work together via protein signaling and result in the pathogenesis and progression of MN.
Epidemiology and Outcomes in Critically Ill Patients with Human Immunodeficiency Virus Infection in the Era of Combination Antiretroviral Therapy
Authors: Turvey Shannon L. , Bagshaw Sean M. , Eurich Dean T. , Sligl Wendy I.
Published: February 2017

Purpose.The impact of critical illness on survival of HIV-infected patients in the era of antiretroviral therapy remains uncertain. We describe the epidemiology of critical illness in this population and identify predictors of mortality.Materials and Methods.Retrospective cohort of HIV-infected patients was admitted to intensive care from 2002 to 2014. Patient sociodemographics, comorbidities, case-mix, illness severity, and 30-day mortality were captured. Multivariable Cox regression analyses were performed to identify predictors of mortality.Results.Of 282 patients, mean age was 44 years (SD 10) and 169 (59%) were male. Median (IQR) CD4 count and plasma viral load (PVL) were 125 cells/mm3(30–300) and 28,000 copies/mL (110–270,000). Fifty-five (20%) patients died within 30 days. Factors independently associated with mortality included APACHE II score (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR] 1.12; 95% CI 1.08–1.16;p<0.001), cirrhosis (aHR 2.30; 95% CI 1.12–4.73;p=0.024), coronary artery disease (aHR 6.98; 95% CI 2.20–22.13;p=0.001), and duration of HIV infection (aHR 1.07 per year; 95% CI 1.02–1.13;p=0.01). CD4 count and PVL were not associated with mortality.Conclusions.Mortality from an episode of critical illness in HIV-infected patients remains high but appears to be driven by acute illness severity and HIV-unrelated comorbid disease rather than degree of immune suppression.
Molecular Mechanism for the Regulation of Microcystin Toxicity to Protein Phosphatase 1 by Glutathione Conjugation Pathway
Authors: Zong Wansong , Wang Xiaoning , Du Yonggang , Zhang Shuhan , Zhang Ying , Teng Yue
Published: February 2017

Glutathione (GSH) conjugation was an important pathway to regulate the toxicity of microcystins (MCs) targeted to protein phosphatases. To explore the specific molecular mechanism for GSH detoxification, two typical MC-GSHs (derived from MCLR and MCRR) were synthesized, prepared, and purified according to previous research. Then, the reduced inhibition effect for MC-GSHs on protein phosphatase 1 was verified by comparing with their original toxins. To further clarify the molecular mechanism for MC-GSHs detoxification, we evaluated the interactions between MCs/MC-GSHs and PP1 with the assistance of MOE molecule simulation. When GSH was introduced to MCs, the covalent binding (Mdha7 to Cys273), the hydrophobic interaction (Adda5 with PP1), the hydrogen bonds (especially for Lys2-Arg96 and Glu6-Tyr272), the covalent combination (between Mdha7 and Cys273), and the ion bonds (between Mn2+ and Asn124/His248/Asp64/His66) of MCLR/MCRR-PP1 complexes weakened to a certain extent, while the ion bonds between Mn2+ and His173/Asp92 residues increased. It was not difficult to find that the toxicity of MCs was closely related to the above sites/interactions and the above key information for MCs-PP1; MC-GSHs-PP1 complexes were important for clarifying the detoxification mechanism of MC-GSHs pathway. This study offers a comprehensive cognition on MCs toxicity regulation and provides valid theoretical support to control their potential risk.
Time- and Dose-Dependent Effects of 17 Beta-Estradiol on Short-Term, Real-Time Proliferation and Gene Expression in Porcine Granulosa Cells
Authors: Ciesiółka Sylwia , Budna Joanna , Jopek Karol , Bryja Artur , Kranc Wiesława , Borys Sylwia , Jeseta Michal , Chachuła Adrian , Ziółkowska Agnieszka , Antosik Paweł , Bukowska Dorota , Brüssow Klaus P. , Bruska Małgorzata , Nowicki Michał , Zabel Maciej , Kempisty Bartosz
Published: February 2017

The key mechanisms responsible for achievement of full reproductive and developmental capability in mammals are the differentiation and transformation of granulosa cells (GCs) during folliculogenesis, oogenesis, and oocyte maturation. Although the role of 17 beta-estradiol (E2) in ovarian activity is widely known, its effect on proliferative capacity, gap junction connection (GJC) formation, and GCs-luteal cells transformation requires further research. Therefore, the goal of this study was to assess the real-time proliferative activity of porcine GCs in vitro in relation to connexin (Cx), luteinizing hormone receptor (LHR), follicle stimulating hormone receptor (FSHR), and aromatase (CYP19A1) expression during short-term (168 h) primary culture. The cultured GCs were exposed to acute (at 96 h of culture) and/or prolonged (between 0 and 168 h of culture) administration of 1.8 and 3.6 μM E2. The relative abundance of Cx36, Cx37, Cx40, Cx43, LHR, FSHR, and CYP19A1 mRNA was measured. We conclude that the proliferation capability of GCs in vitro is substantially associated with expression of Cxs, LHR, FSHR, and CYP19A1. Furthermore, the GC-luteal cell transformation in vitro may be significantly accompanied by the proliferative activity of GCs in pigs.
Skin Tissue Engineering: Application of Adipose-Derived Stem Cells
Authors: Klar Agnes S. , Zimoch Jakub , Biedermann Thomas
Published: February 2017

Perception of the adipose tissue has changed dramatically over the last few decades. Identification of adipose-derived stem cells (ASCs) ultimately transformed paradigm of this tissue from a passive energy depot into a promising stem cell source with properties of self-renewal and multipotential differentiation. As compared to bone marrow-derived stem cells (BMSCs), ASCs are more easily accessible and their isolation yields higher amount of stem cells. Therefore, the ASCs are of high interest for stem cell-based therapies and skin tissue engineering. Currently, freshly isolated stromal vascular fraction (SVF), which may be used directly without any expansion, was also assessed to be highly effective in treating skin radiation injuries, burns, or nonhealing wounds such as diabetic ulcers. In this paper, we review the characteristics of SVF and ASCs and the efficacy of their treatment for skin injuries and disorders.
Numerical Investigation of Vasospasm Detection by Extracranial Blood Velocity Ratios
Authors: Ryu Jaiyoung , Ko Nerissa , Hu Xiao , Shadden Shawn C.
Published: February 2017

Background: Early diagnosis of vasospasm following subarachnoid hemorrhage can prevent cerebral ischemia and improve neurological outcomes. This study numerically evaluates the relevance of extracranial blood velocity indices to detect vasospasm. Methods: A numerical model of cerebral blood flow was used to evaluate the hemodynamics associated with anterior and posterior vasospasm under normal and impaired cerebral autoregulation conditions. Extracranial blood velocities at the carotid and vertebral arteries and their ratios between ipsilateral and contralateral, anterior and posterior, and downstream and upstream arteries were monitored during vasospasm progression. Results: For current clinical indices that track blood velocities at vasospastic arterial segments using transcranial Doppler (TCD), we observed that velocities increased initially and then decreased with vasospasm progression. This nonmonotonic behavior can lead to false-negative decisions in moderate to severe vasospasm. Alternatively, volumetric flow decreased monotonically at the affected arteries, leading to blood velocities upstream of the vasospastic artery also decreasing monotonically. Based on this principle, we demonstrate that velocity ratios between the carotid and vertebral arteries may better identify moderate to severe vasospasm and improve sensitivity and specificity of vasospasm detection. Conclusion. The velocity indices proposed in this study may enable new or improved noninvasive diagnosis of vasospasm using extracranial Doppler ultrasound. Compared to current clinical indices, the new indices may improve the handling of (1) scenarios of severe vasospasm or impaired cerebral autoregulation, (2) systemic changes in blood pressure and cardiac output, (3) vasospasm occurring in arteries distal to the cerebral circle region, and (4) cases with insufficient acoustic bone window for TCD. The results provide a concrete basis for future clinical evaluation of extracranial indices for vasospasm detection.
Effects of Blood Purification on Serum Levels of Inflammatory Cytokines and Cardiac Function in a Rat Model of Sepsis
Authors: Lin Cong-Meng , Chen Cun-Rong , Wu Xue-Qiong , Ren Jin-Hua , Chen Shao-Zhen , Luo Xiao-Feng , Mei Xu-Qiao , Shen Lv-Ying , Guo Meng-Xian , Ma Xu-Dong , Yang Ting
Published: February 2017

Objective: The study aimed to explore the effects of blood purification (BP) on serum levels of inflammatory cytokines and cardiac function in a rat model of sepsis. Methods: A rat model of sepsis was established by cecal ligation and puncture. All rats were divided into the normal control, sham operation, model, sham treatment, and BP treatment groups. Cardiac functions, inflammatory cytokines, myocardial enzymes, pathological score of cardiac muscle tissue, and myocardial apoptosis of rats in each group were compared. Results: Sepsis rats had higher serum levels of inflammatory cytokines and lower cardiac function than those in the normal control and sham operation groups. Compared with the model and sham treatment groups, improved cardiac functions, decreased inflammatory cytokines, myocardial enzymes, pathological score, and myocardial apoptosis and mortality were observed in the BP treatment group. Conclusion: BP may reduce serum levels of inflammatory cytokines and improve cardiac function of sepsis rats.
Vitamin D Promotes Pneumococcal Killing and Modulates Inflammatory Responses in Primary Human Neutrophils
Authors: Subramanian Karthik , Bergman Peter , Henriques-Normark Birgitta
Published: February 2017

Streptococcus pneumoniae is a major human pathogen and a leading cause of pneumonia, septicemia, and meningitis worldwide. Despite clinical studies linking vitamin D deficiency and pneumonia, molecular mechanisms behind these observations remain unclear. In particular, the effects of vitamin D on neutrophil responses remain unknown. Using pneumococcal strains, primary neutrophils isolated from human blood, and sera from patients with frequent respiratory tract infections (RTIs), we investigated the effects of vitamin D on neutrophil bactericidal and inflammatory responses, including pattern recognition receptors, antimicrobial peptides, and cytokine regulation. We found that vitamin D upregulated pattern recognition receptors, TLR2, and NOD2, and induced the antimicrobial human neutrophil peptides (HNP1-3) and LL-37, resulting in increased killing of pneumococci in a vitamin D receptor-dependent manner. Antibodies targeting HNP1-3 inhibited bacterial killing. Vitamin D supplementation of serum from patients with bacterial RTIs enhanced neutrophil killing. Moreover, vitamin D lowered inflammatory cytokine production by infected neutrophils via IL-4 production and the induction of suppressor of cytokine signaling (SOCS) proteins SOCS-1 and SOCS-3, leading to the suppression of NF-κB signaling. Thus, vitamin D enhances neutrophil killing of S. pneumoniae while dampening excessive inflammatory responses and apoptosis, suggesting that vitamin D could be used alongside antibiotics when treating pneumococcal infections.
Upper Urinary Tract Tumors: Which Diagnostic Methods Are Needed?
Authors: Maruschke Matthias , Kram Wolfgang , Zimpfer Annette , Kundt Günther , Hakenberg Oliver W.
Published: February 2017

Objectives: We reviewed the data of patients with upper urinary tract (UUT) tumors to evaluate the effectiveness of diagnostic procedures. Methods: This retrospective study evaluated tumor characteristics, imaging procedures, epidemiological and follow-up data of 113 patients. We analyzed the importance of non-invasive and endoscopic diagnosis in addition to imaging as well as the influence of stage and grade on recurrence rate. Results: Most tumors were urothelial carcinomas (92.9%). The cardinal symptoms were hematuria (40.7%), flank pain (2.7%), and urinary obstruction (14.2%). Forty-seven patients received intravenous urograms (IVUs), 57 retrograde ureteropyelography (RUP), 89 CTs, 6 an MRI. The correct positive tumor identification was reached by IVU in 27/47 patients, by RUP in 50/57, by CT in 74/89, and by MRI in 3/6 patients representing sensitivities of 57.4% (IVU), 87.7% (RUP), 83.1% (CT), and 50% (MRI). Sixty-four patients had urine cytology, which was correctly positive in 60.9% and 56 had a diagnostic ureterorenoscopy, which was correctly positive in 83.9%. During follow-up more than 20% of patients developed a recurrence. Conclusion: In patients with hematuria and flank pain, UUT must be considered a differential diagnosis. UUT to the extent of 76.6% showed more invasive growth (>Ta). Thus, rapid and efficient diagnosis based primarily on imaging is required. Contrast CT scan seems to be the imaging modality with the best performance. However, often only a combination of diagnostic procedures gives a certain diagnosis. Due to the high recurrence rate, close follow-up is needed.
LongYarn
Authors: Craig Jason , Bell Gelsey
Published: February 2017

An aged master storyteller, Mother spins a hilarious and unbelievable yarn of her life story, from cow pastures to pirate ships to canine space travel, while her two adult sons listen with rapturous attention or exasperation. Jason Craig’s latest play, developed with actor Jessica Jelliffe and their celebrated theatre company Banana Bag & Bodice, asks what the value of a good story is, regardless of its relationship to the truth.
The Collective Memory of the Black Dancing Body: The 2016 Revival of Cabin in the Sky
Authors: Dee Das Joanna
Published: February 2017

The 2016 revival of the 1940 “Negro musical” Cabin in the Sky promised to recapture the artistic brilliance of the original production while stripping the show of its racist structures. The success of the revival was due largely to the choreography of Camille A. Brown, who, without a score to follow, was free to reinvent the movement vocabulary. Did this creative freedom contribute to the erasure of Katherine Dunham’s choreographic contributions to the original Cabin in the Sky? Or in the act of reinvention, did Dunham’s work somehow survive?
Welcome to the Experience Election
Authors: Davis Tracy C.
Published: February 2017

The US federal government spends over $80 billion a year on education, yet the electorate’s powers of reasoning are waning.
A (Simple) Experimental Demonstration that Cultural Evolution is not Replicative, but Reconstructive — and an Explanation of Why this Difference Matters
Authors: Scott-Phillips Thomas C.
Published: February 2017

Two complementary approaches to a naturalistic theory of culture are, on the one hand, mainstream cultural evolution research, and, on the other, work done under the banners of cultural attraction and the epidemiology of representations. There is much agreement between these two schools of thought, including in particular a commitment to population thinking. Both schools also acknowledge that the propagation of culture is not simply a matter of replication, but rather one of reconstruction. However, the two schools of thought differ on the relative importance of this point. The cultural attraction school believes it to be fundamental to genuinely causal explanations of culture. In contrast, most mainstream cultural evolution thinking abstracts away from it. In this paper I make flesh a simple thought experiment (first proposed by Dan Sperber) that directly contrasts the effects that replication and reconstruction have on cultural items. Results demonstrate, in a simple and graphic way, that (i) normal cultural propagation is not replicative, but reconstructive, and (ii) that these two different modes of propagation afford two qualitatively different explanations of stability. If propagation is replicative, as it is in biology, then stability arises from the fidelity of that replication, and hence an explanation of stability comes from an explanation of how and why this high-fidelity is achieved. If, on the other hand, propagation is reconstructive (as it is in culture), then stability arises from the fact that a subclass of cultural types are easily re-producible, while others are not, and hence an explanation of stability comes from a description of what types are easily re-producible, and an explanation of why they are. I discuss two implications of this result for research at the intersection of evolution, cognition, and culture.
Children’s Beliefs about Miracles
Authors: Woolley Jacqueline D. , Dunham Jean A.
Published: February 2017

The goal of the present study was to assess the nature and development of children’s concepts of miracles — their understanding of what miracles are, their beliefs in miracles, and their use of miracles as an explanatory device. A total of 36 7–12-year-old children attending an Episcopal school were given a combination of tasks and structured interview questions. Parents filled out a family religiosity questionnaire. Results revealed multi-faceted conceptions of miracles, along with a high level of belief, and indicated that children considered miracles an effective explanatory construct. We apply these findings to the general question of how children learn to explain their world.
Speciation in the genera Anthericum and Chlorophytum (Asparagaceae) in Ethiopia—a molecular phylogenetic approach
Authors: Bjorå Charlotte Sletten , ELDEN MARTE , NORDAL INGER , BRYSTING ANNE K. , AWAS TESFAYE , DEMISSEW SEBSEBE , BENDIKSBY MIKA
Published: February 2017

Sister group relations of Ethiopian species of Anthericum and Chlorophytum and variation patterns in the C. gallabatense and C. comosum complexes were studied using molecular phylogenetic analyses, morphometrics, and scanning electron microscopy of seed surfaces. Results indicate that molecular data largely support previous morphological conclusions, and that speciation has occurred in Ethiopia at least three times in Anthericum and repeatedly within different subclades of Chlorophytum. Areas particularly rich in endemic species are the lowland area around Bale Mountains in SE Ethiopia and in the Beninshangul Gumuz regional state in W Ethiopia near the border to Sudan. A new species, Chlorophytum mamillatum Elden & Nordal, is described, and the names C. tordense and C. tetraphyllum are re-instated.
Alanomyces, a new genus of Aplosporellaceae based on four loci phylogeny
Authors: SHARMA ROHIT , KULKARNI GIRISH , SONAWANE MAHESH S.
Published: February 2017

The Botryosphaeriales is a cosmopolitan fungal order and genera belonging to it are common opportunistic pathogens which mostly infect woody plants. They cause fruit rot, dieback, trunk rot, canker and similar diseases killing trees of natural forests, plantations and fruit trees. Relatively recently, some new families (including family Aplosporellaceae) had been established within this order delineating from family Botryosphaeriaceae. In the present study, two strains (MMI00067 and MMI00068) were isolated from soil attached to the base of a macrofungal stipe collected from the forest of Anuppur (Amarkantak), Madhya Pradesh, India. Strains were identified by DNA sequence data of four loci viz., internal transcribed spacer (ITS) of rDNA, large subunit rDNA (LSU), translation elongation factor (tef) and partial β-tubulin (βtub). Based on the phylogenetic analysis, a new fungal genus Alanomyces is proposed and is positioned within Aplosporellaceae along with Aplosporella. It is characterized by fast growing, dark greenish-black colony, long neck-like multilocular-papillate, black pycnidia with separate ostiole and small <10 µm in length, cylindrical, hyaline, guttulate spermatia. The genus Alanomyces is phylogenetically distinct from its close relative Aplosporella and proposed herein as a new monotypic genus with A. indica as type species.
A review of Smicronyx Schoenherr (Coleoptera, Curculionidae) of Israel, with description of two new species
Authors: HARAN JULIEN , SCHÜTTE ANDRÉ , FRIEDMAN ARIEL-LEIB-LEONID
Published: February 2017

The species of the genus Smicronyx sensu lato (Curculionidae, Curculioninae) occurring in Israel are reviewed. A total of seven species is recorded. Two species are newly recorded for the country (S. pauperculus Wollaston, 1864 and S. albosquamosus Wollaston, 1854), and two new species are described: S. jordanicus Haran and S. longitarsis Haran. A key to species, diagnosis of the new species, new biological and distribution data together with line illustrations of some characters, including male genitalia, and colour photographs of the habitus are provided.
New Pycnomerus Erichson (Coleoptera: Zopheridae: Pycnomerini) from Rimatara, French Polynesia
Authors: PORCH NICK , SMITH TESSA R.
Published: February 2017

We describe two species of Pycnomerus, P. rimatara and P. prebblei, using subfossil material, from the island of Rimatara in the Austral Archipelago of French Polynesia. We consider it likely that these species are globally extinct, a result of the combination of a range of factors including: their probable single island endemic status, the lack of intact indigenous forest on Rimatara, their occurrence in the subfossil record only in samples older than 200–300 years before the present, and lack of historical collections. The potential extinction of these species reflects the long history of human transformation of Polynesian lowland forest habitats, especially the use of fire to transform landscapes, and parallels extensive and well-known extinctions in birds and land snails.
Evaluating Predictor Strategies for Regression-Based Downscaling with a Focus on Glacierized Mountain Environments
Authors: Hofer Marlis , Nemec Johanna , Cullen Nicolas J. , Weber Markus
Published: February 2017

This study explores the potential of different predictor strategies for improving the performance of regression-based downscaling approaches. The investigated local-scale target variables are precipitation, air temperature, wind speed, relative humidity, and global radiation, all at a daily time scale. Observations of these target variables are assessed from three sites in close proximity to mountain glaciers: 1) the Vernagtbach station in the European Alps, 2) the Artesonraju measuring site in the tropical South American Andes, and 3) the Mount Brewster measuring site in the Southern Alps of New Zealand. The large-scale dataset being evaluated is the ERA-Interim dataset. In the downscaling procedure, particular emphasis is put on developing efficient yet not overfit models from the limited information in the temporally short (typically a few years) observational records of the high mountain sites. For direct (univariate) predictors, optimum scale analysis turns out to be a powerful means to improve the forecast skill without the need to increase the downscaling model complexity. Yet the traditional (multivariate) predictor sets show generally higher skill than the direct predictors for all variables, sites, and days of the year. Only in the case of large sampling uncertainty (identified here to particularly affect observed precipitation) is the use of univariate predictor options justified. Overall, the authors find a range in forecast skill among the different predictor options applied in the literature up to 0.5 (where 0 indicates no skill, and 1 represents perfect skill). This highlights that a sophisticated predictor selection (as presented in this study) is essential in the development of realistic, local-scale scenarios by means of downscaling.
The Modulating Influence of Indian Ocean Sea Surface Temperatures on Australian Region Seasonal Tropical Cyclone Counts
Authors: Ramsay H. A. , Richman M. B. , Leslie L. M.
Published: February 2017

The Australian region seasonal tropical cyclone count (TCC) maintained a robust statistical relationship with El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO), with skillful forecasts of above (below) average TCC during La Niña (El Niño) years from 1969 until about 1998, weakening thereafter. The current study identifies an additional climate driver that mitigates the loss of predictive skill for Australian TCC after about 1998. It is found that the seasonal Australian TCC is strongly modulated by a southwest-to-northeast-oriented dipole in Indian Ocean sea surface temperature anomalies (SSTAs), referred to here as the transverse Indian Ocean dipole (TIOD). The TIOD emerges as the leading mode of detrended Indian Ocean SSTAs in the Southern Hemisphere during late winter and spring. Active (inactive) TC seasons are linked to positive (negative) TIOD phases, most notably during August–October immediately preceding the TC season, when SSTAs northwest of Australia, in the northeast pole of the TIOD, are positive (negative).

To provide a physical interpretation of the TIOD–TCC relationship, 850-hPa zonal winds, 850-hPa relative vorticity, and 600-hPa relative humidity are composited for positive and negative TIOD phases, providing results consistent with observed TCC modulation. Correlations between ENSO and TCC weaken from 1998 onward, becoming statistically insignificant, whereas the TIOD–TCC correlation remains statistically significant until 2003. Overall, TIOD outperforms Niño-4 SSTA as a TCC predictor (46% skill increase since about 1998), when used individually or with Niño-4. The combination of TIOD and Niño 4 provide a skill increase (up to 33%) over climatology, demonstrating reliably accurate seasonal predictions of Australian region TCC.
Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists expert consensus statement for the treatment, management and monitoring of the physical health of people with an enduring psychotic illness
Authors: Lambert Timothy JR , Reavley Nicola J , Jorm Anthony F , Oakley Browne Mark A
Published: February 2017

Objective:

To use expert consensus to inform the development of policy and guidelines for the treatment, management and monitoring of the physical health of people with an enduring psychotic illness.

Method:

The Delphi method was used. A systematic search of websites, books and journal articles was conducted to develop a 416-item survey containing strategies that health professionals should use to treat, manage and monitor the physical health of people with an enduring psychotic illness. Three panels of Australian experts (55 clinicians, 21 carers and 20 consumers) were recruited and independently rated the items over three rounds, with strategies reaching consensus on a priori-defined levels of importance written into the expert consensus statement.

Results:

The participation rate for the clinicians across all three rounds was 65%, with consumers and carers only completing one round due to high endorsement rates. Finally, 386 strategies were endorsed as essential or important by one or all panels. The endorsed strategies provided information on engagement and collaborative partnerships; clinical governance; risk factors, morbidity and mortality in people with enduring psychotic illness; assessment, including initial and follow-up assessments; barriers to care; strategies to improve care of people with enduring psychotic illness; education and training; treatment recommendations; medication side effects; and the role of health professionals.

Conclusion:

The consensus statement is intended to be used by health professionals, people with an enduring psychotic illness and their families and carers. The next step needed is an implementation strategy by the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists and other stakeholders.
Hybrid geopolymeric foams with diatomite addition: Effect on chemico-physical properties
Authors: Liguori Barbara , Capasso Ilaria , Romeo Valentina , D’Auria Marco , Lavorgna Marino , Caputo Domenico , Iannace Salvatore , Verdolotti Letizia
Published: February 2017

Organic–inorganic hybrid foams were prepared by using metakaolin or diatomite as a partial (or total) replacement of metakaolin, as precursor and metal silicon and whipped protein as blowing agents. The foamed systems were cured at defined temperature and time and then characterized by chemical point of view through Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction and by mechanical and morphological point of view by compression tests and scanning electron microscopy. The experimental findings highlighted that the replacement of diatomite in the formulation affected the morphological structure of the foams and consequently their mechanical properties, due to a different chemism between the sodium silicate and the solid phase. In particular, the consolidation mechanism in the diatomite based-hybrid foams changed from geopolymerization to a silicate polycondensation. Consequently, mechanical performances enhanced with increase of the diatomite content.
A poly-L-lactic acid/ collagen/glycosaminoglycan matrix for tissue engineering applications
Authors: Carfì Pavia F , Ciappa M , Lepedda A , Fiorentino SM , Rigogliuso S , Brucato V , Formato M , Ghersi G , La Carrubba V
Published: February 2017

Adhesion of tissue cells to biomaterials is a prerequisite of paramount importance for the effectiveness of a tissue engineering construct (cell and scaffolds). Functionalization of polymeric scaffolds with organic polymers, such as collagen or proteoglycans, is a promising approach in order to improve the cytocompatibility. As a matter of fact, organic polymers, isolated directly from the extracellular matrix, contain a multitude of surface ligand (fibronectin, laminin, vitronectin) and arginine–glycine–aspartic acid-containing peptides that promote cell adhesion. In tissue engineering, the combination of organic and synthetic polymers gives rise to scaffolds characterized simultaneously by the mechanical strength of synthetic materials and the biocompatibility of natural materials. In this work, porous poly-L-lactide acid scaffolds were functionalized with a synthetic collagen–glycosaminoglycans matrix in order to improve cell adhesion. For this purpose, a protocol for collagen–glycosaminoglycans conjugation into the pores of the scaffolds was set up. Moreover, an innovative protocol for the quantification of the conjugated glycosaminoglycans inside the scaffolds was created and adopted. The results have confirmed the effectiveness of the developed protocol: a collagen–glycosaminoglycans conjugation, with an efficiency of about 21% was obtained inside the scaffold. Moreover, SEM analysis highlighted the presence of the homogeneous synthetic matrix into the bulk of porous scaffolds. Finally, cell culture assays carried out by utilizing mouse embryonic fibroblasts showed that cell proliferation on poly-L-lactide acid-collagen–glycosaminoglycans scaffold is higher than on poly-L-lactide acid collagen scaffold (utilized as control). Therefore, it can be stated that the presence of glycosaminoglycans not only increases the mechanical strength of the matrix, thanks to their cross-linking effect, but also it seems to lead to a more significant cell growth. Overall, it is reasonable to state that the concerned protocol may be proposed as a reliable route to increase the rate of proliferation and in some cases to stimulate the cell differentiation in tissue engineering devices.
Trauma and learning in America’s classrooms
Authors: Terrasi Salvatore , de Galarce Patricia Crain
Published: February 2017

Whether they work in a rural, urban, or suburban district, all teachers should expect to confront children who have had adverse childhood experiences involving trauma. All teachers should understand how trauma affects students’ social, emotional, and academic growth. The more that teachers understand how traumatic experiences affect student competencies, the more proactive they can be in creating trauma-sensitive learning environments. Trauma-sensitive schools provide a safe and respectful environment that enables students to build caring relationships with adults and peers, self-regulate their emotions and behaviors, and succeed academically, while supporting their physical health and well-being.
Managing stress for at-risk students
Authors: Spiegel Ellen J.
Published: February 2017

The BRIDGE Alternative Middle School in Lowell, Mass., serves students ages 12-16 who have exhibited behavioral problems in traditional school settings, including problems such as truancy, multiple suspensions, mental health issues, peer conflicts, family dysfunction, academic problems, and gang involvement. Students referred to BRIDGE are often involved with the court system and/or with the state’s Department of Children and Families, and many have been in and out of specialized hospital placements and residential or respite care facilities. When they arrive at BRIDGE, they tend not only to be struggling in school but also exhibiting problems at home or in the community. After enrolling at the BRIDGE, however, these same students reduce their suspension rates, increase their attendance, and improve their academic growth. The author shares the school’s strategies for preventing and responding to problems that arise from stress, frustration, rage, and emotional dysregulation. Whether in an alternative setting or a more typical classroom, a number of small steps can lead to a significantly improved emotional climate and a more stable, healthy school culture.
Under the Law
Authors: Underwood Julie
Published: February 2017

The weapons ban at elementary and secondary schools began with passage of the Gun-Free School Zones Act in 1990. Schools are subject to federal, state, and local policies regarding the presence of guns on school property. The federal laws affect both adult and student behavior regarding guns at schools. State laws tend to address both possession of weapons at schools in addition to the right to conceal weapons. States also determine whether local school districts can enact their own more restrictive policies regarding guns at schools.
Missions involvement and interfaith relations: Forming pathways of commonality
Authors: Earl Arville , Earl Shelia
Published: February 2017

The reality of an ever-accelerating globalization, accompanied by an expanding religious pluralism, presents significant challenges to many long-enduring concepts of doing missions. This article will focus on identifying some of those challenges and offering some possible options for ongoing missions involvement. Particular attention will be given to the potential of melding missions practices with the nurturing of interfaith relationships with the prospect of forming covenants of commonality.

It is our premise that continuing interfaith conversations will break down barriers of misunderstanding and facilitate the growth of mutually compatible relationships across delicate cultural and religious boundary lines. Within the context of these developing cross-faith relationships, probable new opportunities for effectual missions ministry will emerge. In developing this article, we will draw from multiple sources, including published works by notable scholars of missiology, theology, ethics, and sociology. Songs, hymns, poems, and prayers will provide helpful illustrations. Additional material will come from real-life interfaith interchanges and from our personal experiences while serving as missions practitioners in West Africa and Eastern Europe.
The servant that brings light
Authors: Stone Meredith J.
Published: February 2017

Isaiah 42:1–9 and 49:1–6 are prophecies that describe the servant of the Lord as an entity that will bring justice and salvation for all, including being “a light to the nations.” The implications of “light to the nations” imagery have tended to include a presumption that the nations are in darkness and that darkness is an undesirable state.

This expository article will consider the identity, activity, and function of the servant of the Lord in both passages, and examine imperial and racial implications of “light to the nations” imagery. It will interpret the servant’s role as enacting justice, light, among all people. Further, it will deconstruct the negative implications of darkness and its exclusive equation with the nations, as both Israel and the servant, in addition to the nations, exhibit characteristics of and parallel constructions to darkness in the passage. Instead of understanding darkness negatively and as only associated with the nations, this article will interpret the passages to present darkness as a place in which the potential of God’s transformative activity is at its height.
Interfaith relations and the pursuit of justice
Authors: De La Torre Miguel A.
Published: February 2017

Neoliberalism as a religious movement is an economic doctrine that can only be accepted by faith. This neoliberal faith is based on the power amassed by a decentralized network of institutions, and the militarily “advanced” nations it profits, which in turn verifies the universality of its economic doctrines. There can be no salvation outside the global market forces of “free trade.” An alternative to the spirit of neoliberalism can be found within the faith of the people. Within the present post-modern condition, a space has been opened—perhaps inadvertently—for the sacred. In this space, the faith and/or spirituality of the people can directly challenge global capitalism. The alternative to neoliberalism, the hope for the vast majority of the world’s population, will be found within their own faith traditions—specifically, how those faith traditions equip the marginalized within their midst to seek their own liberation. Although the actual tenets of any faith are important, the poor and disenfranchised usually approach their faith tradition differently than those who usually serve as the academic or ecclesiastic spokespersons of the faith. Any attempt to understand the faith of the people from the margins of the community will find itself rooted in the everyday, attempting to discover how their faith provides the means of surviving the condition of their disenfranchisement.
Periradicular infiltration of the lumbar spine: testing the robustness of an interventional ultra-low-dose protocol at different body mass index levels
Authors: Elsholtz Fabian Henry Jürgen , Schaafs Lars-Arne , Köhlitz Thorsten , Hamm Bernd , Niehues Stefan Markus
Published: February 2017

Background

Computed tomography (CT)-guided periradicular infiltration remains a frequent interventional procedure for treatment of low back pain.

Purpose

To present an interventional ultra-low-dose protocol for CT-guided periradicular infiltration therapy and assess its application at different body mass index (BMI) levels.

Material and Methods

Over a period of 14 months, 79 patients underwent 183 CT-guided interventions for single-site lumbar periradicular therapy using an ultra-low-dose protocol with a basic setup of 100 kV and 5 mAs. Procedures were performed via intermittent fluoroscopy. A retrospective review was performed to analyze the parameters tube current and tube voltage, dose-length product, and BMI.

Results

The interventional ultra-low-dose protocol allowed safe treatment of 91.1% of the patients without a need for adapting the protocol. In seven patients with a higher BMI (range, 31–38 kg/m2; mean, 34 kg/m2), the tube current had to be increased to retain sufficient image quality. Only patients with a BMI of 30 and higher showed a significant correlation between BMI and dose-length product ( P value = 0.02), resulting in a slightly increased dose ( P value = 0.002).

Conclusion

The protocol presented for the interventional part of CT-guided periradicular infiltration allows to safely treat patients with a median calculated effective dose of 0.045 mSv (converted from a dose-length-product of 2.26 mGy*cm). Patients with a BMI of 30 and higher required a higher calculated effective dose with just one patient slightly exceeding 0.1 mSv.
Histogram analysis of apparent diffusion coefficient for monitoring early response in patients with advanced cervical cancers undergoing concurrent chemo-radiotherapy
Authors: Meng Jie , Zhu Lijing , Zhu Li , Ge Yun , He Jian , Zhou Zhengyang , Yang Xiaofeng
Published: February 2017

Background

Apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) histogram analysis has been widely used in determining tumor prognosis.

Purpose

To investigate the dynamic changes of ADC histogram parameters during concurrent chemo-radiotherapy (CCRT) in patients with advanced cervical cancers.

Material and Methods

This prospective study enrolled 32 patients with advanced cervical cancers undergoing CCRT who received diffusion-weighted (DW) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) before CCRT, at the end of the second and fourth week during CCRT and one month after CCRT completion. The ADC histogram for the entire tumor volume was generated, and a series of histogram parameters was obtained. Dynamic changes of those parameters in cervical cancers were investigated as early biomarkers for treatment response.

Results

All histogram parameters except AUClow showed significant changes during CCRT (all P < 0.05). There were three variable trends involving different parameters. The mode, 5th, 10th, and 25th percentiles showed similar early increase rates (33.33%, 33.99%, 34.12%, and 30.49%, respectively) at the end of the second week of CCRT. The pre-CCRT 5th and 25th percentiles of the complete response (CR) group were significantly lower than those of the partial response (PR) group.

Conclusion

A series of ADC histogram parameters of cervical cancers changed significantly at the early stage of CCRT, indicating their potential in monitoring early tumor response to therapy.
Mitigating death anxiety: Identifying music’s role in terror management
Authors: Cardany Audrey Berger
Published: February 2017

Based on the ideas of social-anthropologist Ernest Becker, Terror Management Theory (TMT) explains human behavior as being motivated by conscious and unconscious mortality salience. This article examines the role of music in the denial of death and catalogues related literature in the music and social psychology fields. Categories include: TMT and art, music used as control condition in TMT research, and songs and TMT. A brief description of Becker’s theory and TMT and a discussion of the functions of music in culture precede the literature review. Analysis of the literature suggests that (a) music provides a safe window frame through which to examine death, (b) music created for community purposes may buffer death anxiety more readily than that created for individual purposes, and (c) songs prompt mortality salience and simultaneously buffer death anxiety depending on individual music preferences, cultural worldviews, and perceptions of famous others. The review further identifies limitations in TMT studies regarding music and terror management and highlights the need for additional empirical research to untangle the complexity of music’s role in mitigating death anxiety growing out of mortality salience.
Anatomic Reconstruction of the Anterior Cruciate Ligament of the Knee With or Without Reconstruction of the Anterolateral Ligament: A Randomized Clinical Trial
Authors: Ibrahim Samir Abdulrazik , Shohdy Emad Mureed , Marwan Yousef , Ramadan Sami Abdulghaffar , Almisfer Abdulrahman Khalid , Mohammad Mohammad Wagdy , Abdulsattar Wael Shoabe , Khirat Shiref
Published: February 2017

Background:

Rotational instability of the knee remains an issue after anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction.

Hypothesis/Purpose:

The purpose was to evaluate the subjective and objective outcomes of combined reconstruction of the ACL and anterolateral ligament (ALL) of the knee. The hypothesis was that favorable outcomes can be achieved with this surgical procedure compared with isolated anatomic reconstruction of the ACL.

Study Design:

Randomized controlled trial; Level of evidence, 2.

Methods:

One hundred ten patients with a unilateral ACL injury and high-grade pivot shift were randomly assigned to undergo either combined ACL and ALL reconstruction (group A) or isolated ACL reconstruction (group B). Preoperative and postoperative evaluations of the patients were conducted by obtaining history details, recording physical examination findings, measuring knee laxity using the KT-1000 arthrometer, and using validated outcome scores for the knee. P < .05 was considered as the cut-off level of statistical significance. The Fisher exact and Mann-Whitney U tests were used to assess statistical significance.

Results:

At a mean follow-up of 27 months, 53 and 50 patients in groups A and B, respectively, were available for analysis. No statistically different outcomes were found between the 2 groups except for the KT-1000 arthrometer values. The median KT-1000 arthrometer result for combined ACL and ALL reconstruction was 1.3 mm, while the median result for isolated ACL reconstruction was 1.8 mm ( P < .001). None of the patients (n = 0; 0.0%) who underwent combined ACL and ALL reconstruction had anterior translation of greater than 5 mm at maximum pulling strength compared with their normal knees at final follow-up. On the other hand, 3 (6.0%) patients who underwent isolated ACL reconstruction had anterior translation of more than 5 mm. No serious complications were found in both groups.

Conclusion:

Combined ACL and ALL reconstruction was found to be effective in improving subjective and objective outcomes. Nevertheless, these findings were not significantly superior to isolated ACL reconstruction except for the instrumented knee laxity testing results. This might indicate that ALL reconstruction should not be performed routinely for patients undergoing ACL reconstruction.