bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
An Estrogen Replacement Therapy Containing Nine Synthetic Plant-Based Conjugated Estrogens Promotes Neuronal Survival
Authors: Zhao Lixia , Chen Shuhua , Brinton Roberta D.
Published: January 2017

Epidemiological data from retrospective and case–control studies have indicated that estrogen replacement therapy can decrease the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease. In addition, estrogen replacement therapy has been found to promote neuronal survival both in vivo and in vitro. We have shown that conjugated equine estrogens (CEE), containing 238 different molecules composed of estrogens, progestins, and androgens, exerted neurotrophic and neuroprotective effects in cultured neurons. In the current study, we sought to determine whether a steroidal formulation of nine synthetic conjugated estrogens (SCE) chemically derived from soybean and yam extracts is as effective as the complex multisteroidal formulation of CEE. Analyses of the neuroprotective efficacy indicate that SCE exhibited significant neuroprotection against beta amyloid, hydrogen peroxide, and glutamate-induced toxicity in cultured hippocampal neurons. Indices of neuroprotection included an increase in neuronal survival, a decrease in neurotoxin-induced lactate dehydrogenase release, and a reduction in neurotoxin-induced apoptotic cell death. Furthermore, SCE was found to attenuate excitotoxic glutamate-induced [Ca2+]i rise. Quantitative analyses indicate that the neuroprotective efficacy of SCE was comparable to that of the multisteroidal CEE formulation. Data derived from these investigations predict that SCE could exert neuroprotective effects comparable to CEE in vivo and therefore could reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s disease in postmenopausal women.
Casein Binds to the Cell Membrane and Induces Intracellular Calcium Signals in the Enteroendocrine Cell: A Brief Communication
Authors: Hira Tohru , Hara Hiroshi , Tomita Fusao , Aoyama Yoritaka
Published: January 2017

Dietary protein but not amino acids stimulates cholecystokinin (CCK) secretion in rat mucosal cells. However, the dietary protein sensory mechanisms and the intracellular signal pathway in the enteroendocrine cells have not yet been clarified. The relationship between dietary protein binding to cell membrane and intracellular calcium responses were examined in the CCK-producing enteroendocrine cell line STC-1. The binding of solubilized STC-1 cell membrane to proteins was analyzed using a surface plasmon resonance sensor. Intracellular calcium concentrations of STC-1 cell suspensions loaded with Fura-2 AM were measured using a spectrafluorophotometer system with continuous stirring. Intracellular calcium concentrations in STC-1 cells were increased by exposure to α-casein or casein sodium, but not to bovine serum albumin. Solubilized STC-1 membranes bound to α-casein and casein sodium but did not bind to bovine serum albumin. α-Casein demonstrated higher membrane binding and intracellular calcium stimulating activities than casein sodium. Thus, protein binding to the STC-1 cell membrane and intracellular calcium responses were correlated. Intracellular calcium responses to α-casein were suppressed by an L-type calcium channel blocker. These results suggest that casein, a dietary protein, binds to a putative receptor on the CCK-producing enteroendocrine cell membrane and elicits the subsequent intracellular calcium response via an L-type calcium channel.
Chemistry, Distribution, and Metabolism of Tomato Carotenoids and Their Impact on Human Health
Authors: Khachik Frederick , Carvalho Lorena , Bernstein Paul S. , Muir Garth J. , Zhao Da-You , Katz Nikita B.
Published: January 2017

Recent epidemiological studies have suggested that the consumption of tomatoes and tomato-based food products reduce the risk of prostate cancer in humans. This protective effect has been attributed to carotenoids, which are one of the major classes of phytochemicals in this fruit. The most abundant carotenoid in tomato is lycopene, followed by phytoene, phytofluene, ζ-carotene, -γ-carotene, ß-carotene, neurosporene, and lutein. The distribution of lycopene and related carotenoids in tomatoes and tomato-based food products has been determined by extraction and high-performance liquid chromatography-UV/Visible photodiode array detection. Detailed qualitative and quantitative analysis of human serum, milk, and organs, particularly prostate, have revealed the presence of all the aforementioned carotenoids in biologically significant concentrations. Two oxidative metabolites of lycopene, 2, 6-cyclolycopene-1, 5-diols A and B, which are only present in tomatoes in extremely low concentrations, have been isolated and identified in human serum, milk, organs (liver, lung, breast, liver, prostate, colon) and skin. Carotenoids may also play an important role in the prevention of age-related macular degeneration, cataracts, and other blinding disorders. Among 25 dietary carotenoids and nine metabolites routinely found in human serum, mainly (3R, 3'R, 6'R)-lutein, (3R, 3'R)-zeaxanthin, lycopene, and their metabolites were detected in ocular tissues. In this review we identified and quantified the complete spectrum of carotenoids from pooled human retinal pigment epithelium, ciliary body, iris, lens, and in the uveal tract and in other tissues of the human eye to gain a better insight into the metabolic pathways of ocular carotenoids. Although (3R, 3'R, 6'R)-lutein, (3R, 3'R)-zeaxanthin, and their metabolites constitute the major carotenoids in human ocular tissues, lycopene and a wide range of dietary carotenoids have been detected in high concentrations in ciliary body and retinal pigment epithelium. The possible role of lycopene and other dietary carotenoids in the prevention of age-related macular degeneration and other eye diseases Is discussed.
Tomatoes, Lycopene, and Prostate Cancer: Progress and Promise
Authors: Hadley Craig W. , Miller Elizabeth C. , Schwartz Steven J. , Clinton Steven K.
Published: January 2017

Prostate cancer has emerged as a major public health problem in nations that have an affluent culture with an aging population. The search for etiologic risk factors and an emphasis on the development of chemopreventive agents has gained momentum over the last decade. Among the landmark epidemiologic findings during this period has been the association between the consumption of tomato products and a lower risk of Prostate cancer. The traditional reductionist scientific approach has led many investigators to propose that lycopene, a carotenoid consumed largely from tomato products, may be the component responsible for lowering the risk of prostate cancer. Thus, many laboratory and clinical studies are now underway with the goal of assessing the ability of pure lycopene to serve as a chemopreventive agent for prostate and other malignancies. The focus on lycopene should continue, and an improved understanding of lycopene absorption, distribution, role in antioxidant reactions, and metabolism is critical in the quest to elucidate mechanisms whereby this compound could possibly reduce prostate cancer risk. In contrast to the pharmacologic approach with pure lycopene, many nutritional scientists direct their attention upon the diverse array of tomato products as a complex mixture of biologically active phytochemicals that together may have anti–prostate cancer benefits beyond those of any single constituent. These contrasting approaches will continue to be explored In clinical, laboratory and epidemiologic studies in the near future, providing hope that the next generation will benefit from this knowledge and experience a lower risk of prostate cancer.
Plasminogen Activator Inhibitor-1 in the Pathogenesis of Asthma
Authors: Cho Seong H. , Ryu Chung H. , Oh Chad K.
Published: January 2017

Plasminogen activator inhibitor (PAI)-1 is the main inhibitor of the fibrinolytic system and is known to play an essential role in tissue remodeling. Recent evidence indicates that chronic asthma may lead to tissue remodeling such as subepithelial fibrosis and extracellular matrix (ECM) deposition in the airways. However, the role of PAI-1 in asthma is unknown. Recently the mast cell (MC), which plays a major role in asthma, was found as a novel source of PAI-1, and a large number of MCs expressing PAI-1 are infiltrated in the airways of patients with severe asthma. Furthermore, PAI-1-deficient mice show reduced ECM deposition in the airways of a murine model of chronic asthma by inhibiting MMP-9 activity and fibrinolysis. In a human study, the 4G allele frequency was significantly higher in the asthmatic patients than in the control group. In view of the findings that the 4G allele is associated with elevated plasma PAI-1 level, elevated PAI-1 level in the lung may contribute to the development of asthma. In summary, PAI-1 may play an important role in the pathogenesis of asthma and further studies evaluating the mechanisms of PAI-1 action may lead to the development of a novel therapeutic target for the treatment and prevention of asthma.
Sex Differences in Choline-Deficient Diet-Induced Steatohepatitis in Mice
Authors: Kashireddy Pap Reddy V. , Rao M. Sambasiva
Published: January 2017

Alcoholic steatohepatitis (ASH) and nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) are common liver diseases in the United States. ASH and NASH occur more frequently in women than in men, and liver injury is also more severe in women. The role of estrogens in ASH has been well established, but their role in NASH has received relatively little study. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of estrogens in methionine-choline deficient diet (MCDD)-induced steatohepatitis in mice. The degree of steatohepatitis was evaluated in males and in intact and ovariectomized females that were fed MCDD for 4 weeks, and in females that were fed MCDD containing tamoxifen. Hematoxylin and eosin-stained sections of livers showed marked steatohepatitis in all experimental groups. Compared to the control group, markers of hepatocyte injury such as aspartate transaminase (AST), alanine transaminase (ALT), and liver triglyceride levels increased significantly in males and in intact and ovariectomized female mice that were fed MCDD. Also, it was interesting that levels of AST and ALT increased much more in the MCDD + tamoxifen group than in the MCDD group. In female mice fed MCDD, hepatocyte proliferative and apoptotic indices increased slightly compared to mice that were fed a normal diet. Based on these results, it can be concluded that MCDD-induced steatohepatitis is comparable in male and female mice, and that ovariectomy or antiestrogen treatment had no protective effect in MCDD-induced steatohepatitis.
A Novel Natural Inhibitor of Extracellular Signal-Regulated Kinases and Human Breast Cancer Cell Growth
Authors: Izevbigie Ernest B. , Bryant Joseph L. , Walker Alice
Published: January 2017

Water-soluble extracts of edible Vernonia amygdalitis leaves were recently reported as potent inhibitors of cultured MCF-7 cells. The mechanism by which V. amygdalina inhibits MCF-7 cell growth has not been previously studied. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of V. amygdalina on the activities, DNA synthesis, and subsequent cell growth of extracellular signal-regulated protein kinases 1 and 2 (ERKs 1/2). Treatment of cells with various concentrations (3-100 μg/ml) of water-soluble V. amygdalina extract potently inhibited ERK activities, DNA synthesis (P < 0.005), and cell growth (P < 0.01) in a concentration-dependent fashion, both in the absence and presence of serum. The growth rate of cells pretreated with 10 μg/ml V. amygdalina for 48 hrs before transfer to V. amygdalina-free medium was not significantly different (P > 0.05) from untreated cells. These results suggest that V. amygdalina, at least at concentrations up to 10 μg/ml, exhibits cytostatic action to retard the growth of human breast cancer cells. In addition, the ERK signaling pathways may be one or more of the intracellular targets for V. amygdalina antineoplastic actions.
Selenium Attenuates Lipopolysaccharide-Induced Oxidative Stress Responses Through Modulation of p38 MAPK and NF-κB Signaling Pathways
Authors: Kim Sang Hyun , Johnson Victor J. , Shin Tae-Yong , Sharma Raghubir P.
Published: January 2017

Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) produces reactive oxygen species (ROS) and nitric oxide (NO) in macrophages. These molecules are involved in inflammation associated with endotoxic shock. Selenium (Se), a biologically essential trace element, modulates the functions of many regulatory proteins involved in signal transduction and affects a variety of cellular activities, including cell growth and survival. We demonstrate that Se attenuated LPS-induced ROS and NO production in murine macrophage cultures in vitro. This Se-decreased production of NO was demonstrated by decreases in both mRNA and protein expression for inducible NO synthase (INOS). The preventive effects of Se on INOS were p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase- and nuclear factor-κB-dependent. Se specifically blocked the LPS-induced activation of p38 but not that of c-jun-N-terminal kinase and extracellular signal-regulated kinase; the p38-specific pathway was confirmed using p38 inhibitor SB 203580. These results suggest that the mechanism by which Se may act as an anti-inflammatory agent and that Se may be considered as a possible preventive intervention for endotoxemia, particularly in Se-deficient locations. However, the efficacy and safety of Se need to be further investigated, because long-term intake >0.4 mg Se/day in adults can produce adverse effects.
Hormone-Refractory Prostate Cancer in the Lobund-Wistar Rat
Authors: Pollard Morris , Suckow Mark A.
Published: January 2017

Research on cancer prevention and therapy must focus on the refractory disease, the fatal end-stage of cancer that develops in patients with organ-related solid tumors. Refractory cancers develop spontaneously in advanced-stage tumors or in relapsed cases after failed therapy. Because neither prevention nor therapy is currently feasible, refractory cancer is a major impediment to survival. There is a great need for an animal model of prostate cancer (PC), one that develops cancer from initial premalignant to the terminal refractory stages. We describe here a model of hormone-refractory prostate cancer (HRPC) that develops spontaneously through two stages by endogenous mechanisms in the Lobund-Wistar (LW) rat. The early premalignant, testosterone (T)-dependent stage is promoted by high levels of endogenous T, and up to age 12 months is reversible by T deprivation; without this intervention, the tumorigenic process progresses to the refractory stage, which is highly aggressive and does not respond to T deprivation or to a wide range of therapies. Initial refractory tumors are palpable at approximately 18 months of age. As they continue to grow, the tumors express characteristics seen in refractory cancers in humans (i.e., hypoxia, expression of hypoxia-inducible factors, and metastasis). Chemically induced HRPCs in LW rats manifest the same two developmental stages, but with shorter latency periods. A transplantable, metastasizing cell line (PAID) was derived from a germfree LW rat with advanced-stage cancer. Both spontaneous and chemically induced autochthonous HRPC model systems serve as outstanding models for studies on the prevention and therapy of refractory cancer.
Copper Alters the Conformation and Transcriptional Activity of the Tumor Suppressor Protein p53 in Human Hep G2 Cells
Authors: Tassabehji Nadine M. , Vanlandingham Jacob W. , Levenson Cathy W.
Published: January 2017

The tumor suppressor protein p53 plays a role in the molecular response to DNA damage by acting as a DNA-binding transcription factor that regulates specific target genes to arrest the cell cycle, induce repair mechanisms, and initiate apoptotic cell death. To test the effect of copper on the transcriptional activity of p53, Hep G2 cells were transiently transfected with a luciferase reporter gene downstream from multiple p53 response elements. Co-transfection with the p53 gene resulted in a 6-fold increase in luciferase activity, showing that p53 acts as a transcription factor in this system. However, in the presence of copper, luciferase activity was significantly reduced. Oligonucleotide arrays representing 145 known p53-associated genes were hybridized with biotinylated cDNAs from mRNA extracted from control and copper-treated Hep G2 cells. Among the genes that were differentially regulated were fos, RB1, glutathione peroxidase, TGF-β, and 15-lipoxygenase, a gene known to be activated by mutant p53. Although control Hep G2 cells synthesize wild-type p53, immunocytochemistry identified not only wild type, but also mutant p53 in the presence of copper and other agents that induce oxidative damage. Thus, this report not only identifies genes that may play a role in copper-mediated apoptosis, but also suggests that copper-induced oxidative processes result in the synthesis of mutant p53 with altered transcriptional properties.
Cell-Surface Protein Disulfide Isomerase Is Required for Transnitrosation of Metallothionein by S-Nitroso-Albumin in Intact Rat Pulmonary Vascular Endothelial Cells
Authors: Zhang Li-Ming , Croix Claudette St. , Cao Rong , Wasserloos Karla , Watkins Simon C. , Stevens Troy , Li Song , Tyurin Vladimir , Kagan Valerian E. , Pitt Bruce R.
Published: January 2017

S-nitrosation of the metal binding protein, metallothionein (MT) appears to be a critical link in affecting endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS)-derived nitric oxide (NO)-induced changes in cytoplasmic and nuclear labile zinc, respectively. Although low molecular weight S-nitrosothiols also appear to affect this signaling system, less is known about the ability of extracellular protein nitrosothlols to transnitrosate MT. Accordingly, we synthesized fluorescently labeled S-nitroso-albumin (SNO-albumin, a major protein S-nitrosothiol in plasma) and determined, Waconfocal microscopy in fixed tissue, that it is transported into cultured rat pulmonary vascular endothelial cells in a temperature sensitive fashion. The cells were transfected with an expression vector that encodes human MT-IIa cDNA sandwiched between enhanced cyan (donor) and yellow (acceptor) fluorescent proteins (FRET-MT) that can detect conformational changes in MT through fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET). SNO-albumin and the membrane-permeant low molecular weight S-nitroso-L-cysteine ethyl ester (L-SNCEE) caused a conformational change in FRET-MT as ascertained by full spectral laser scanning confocal microscopy in live rat pulmonary vascular endothelial cells, a result which is consistent with transnitrosation of the reporter molecule. Transnitrosation of FRET-MT by SNO-albumin, but not L-SNCEE, was sensitive to antisense oligonucleotide-mediated inhibition of the expression of cell surface protein disulfide Isomerase (csPDI). These results extend the original observations of Ramachandran et al. (Ramachandran N, Root P, Jiang XM, Hogg PJ, Mutus B. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 98:9539–9544, 2001) and suggest that csPDI-mediated denitrosation helps to regulate the ability of the major plasma NO carrier (SNO-albumin) to transnitrosate endothelial cell molecular targets (e.g. MT).
Apo-Metallothionein Emerging as a Major Player in the Cellular Activities of Metallothionein
Authors: Petering David H. , Zhu Jianyu , Krezoski Susan , Meeusen Jeffrey , Kiekenbush Christy , Krull Sara , Specher Todd , Dughish Munira
Published: January 2017

Observations of apo-metallothlonein (apo-MT) have been made under a variety of physiologic circumstances, including zinc deficiency in cell culture and in rodents, cellular induction of MT by dexamethasone with concurrent Zn deficiency, a variety of tumors under normal Zn conditions, MT induction by Zn and Bi citrate, induction of hepatic MT after tumor cell Injection into nude mice, and overexpression of cardiac MT in MT transgenic mice. Experiments demonstrating both the lability of Zn and Cu bound to MT and the cellular stability of apo-MT are described to help rationalize the widespread presence of this metal-depleted species. Finally, comparative in vitro and cellular experiments examined the relative reactivity of Zn- and apo-MT with nitric oxide species, showing that apo-MT is much more reactive chemically and that in cells it may be a principal reactive species within the MT pool.
In Vitro Interaction Between Homocysteine and Copper Ions: Potential Redox Implications
Authors: Carrasco-Pozo Catalina , Álvarez-Lueje Alejandro , Olea-Azar Claudio , López-Alarcón Camilo , Speisky Hernán
Published: January 2017

Homocysteine (Hcys) has been implicated in various oxidative stress-related disorders. The presence of a thiol on its structure allows Hcys to exert a double-edge redox action. Depending on whether Cu2+ ions occur concomitantly, Hcys can either promote or prevent free radical generation and its consequences. We have addressed In vitro the interaction between Hcys and Cu2+ Ions, in terms of the consequences that such interaction may have on the free radical scavenging properties of Hcys and on the redox state and redox activity of the metal. To this end, we investigated the free radical-scavenging, O2--generating, and ascorbate-oxidizing properties of the interacting species by assessing the bleaching of ABTS'+ radicals, the reduction of O2--dependent cytochrome c, and the copper-dependent oxidation of ascorbate, respectively. In addition, electron paramagnetic resonance and Cu(I)-bathocuproine formation were applied to assess the formation of paramagnetic complexes and the metal redox state. Upon a brief incubation, the Hcys/Cu2+ Interaction led to a decrease in the free radical-scavenging properties of Hcys, and to a comparable loss of the thiol density. Both effects were partial and were not modified by increasing the Incubation time, despite the presence of Cu2+ excess. Depending on the molar Hcys : Cu2+ ratio, the interaction resulted in the formation of mixtures that appear to contain time-stable and ascorbate-reducible Cu(II) complexes (for ratios up to 2:1), and ascorbate- and oxygen-redox-inactive Cu(l) complexes (for ratios up to 4:1). Increasing the interaction ratio beyond 4:1 was associated with the sudden appearance of an O2--generating activity. The data indicate that depending on the molar ratio of interaction, Hcys and Cu2+ react to form copper complexes that can promote either antioxidant or pro-oxidant actions. We speculate that the redox activity arising from a large molar Hcys excess may partially underlie the association between hyper-homocysteinemia and a greater risk of developing oxidative-related cardiovascular diseases.
Translational Research in Academia and Industry
Authors: Clackson Tim
Published: January 2017

Research that bridges between scientific insights and clinical application is one of the most active and exciting areas of current biomedical activity. Much of this translational work occurs through collaborations between academic and industrial institutions, taking advantage of the respective strengths and resources of the two sectors. However, such collaborations sometimes can be challenging due to differences between the cultures and priorities of the two parties. This article discusses the nature of translational research, with a focus on the academia-industry interface, analyzes the factors important for effective collaborations, and describes specific examples of successful translational research programs.
Biased trajectory dissemination of uncontrolled mobile sinks for event collection in wireless sensor networks
Authors: Yang Guisong , Wang Lijun , Jiang Linhua , He Xingyu
Published: January 2017

Considering the social properties of mobile sinks, we propose a biased trajectory dissemination of uncontrolled mobile sinks for event collection in wireless sensor networks. In biased trajectory dissemination of uncontrolled mobile sink, we first divide the whole network into clusters which can be managed by cluster heads that are elected in turn for intra-cluster event collection and inter-cluster communication. Second, for a mobile sink, we further divide the clusters it visits into biased clusters and non-biased clusters according to its staying probability. The mobile sink will send its mobility message which shows its location as it moves into a new cluster. We then construct a biased loop which is composed of all biased clusters and some non-biased clusters to disseminate a mobile sink’s mobility message only to clusters on it when the mobile sink moves into a biased cluster. We also construct query path that connects any cluster head that is not on the biased loop to a cluster head on it. An event could be transmitted to the biased loop along the query path for further forwarding to the mobile sink. Numerous simulations show the superior performance of biased trajectory dissemination of uncontrolled mobile sink compared to the representative schemes in terms of average path length, delay, and network energy consumption.
From Disillusion to the Development of Professional Judgment
Authors: Albert Marie-Noelle , Michaud Nancy
Published: January 2017

Using an autobiographical method, this study exposes the knowledge created from an experience concerning the implementation process of a human complexity course. We analyze the pedagogical strategies and explain the facts noticed in the narrative. We also present the generic knowledge that results from this experience. As this is a real-life experience, the reader can learn from the errors committed by a professor who experimented with various strategies. Furthermore, this experience is transferable to other contexts of management education. It is an example of applying humanities to business practices. This study makes it possible to improve how professional judgment is taught in a context of liberal learning.
The Stages of Model Building in Economics
Authors: Katzner Donald W.
Published: January 2017

Five successive stages are identified that characterize the process of explanatory model building in economics. Moving across the first three from an initial image, to the model’s preliminary formalization, and then to its operationalization, requires the successive introduction of assumptions that remove the model farther and farther from the reality on the basis of which the initial image was created. It is argued that by ignoring the first two stages, important implications of the Stage 3 assumptions may be hidden. The revelation of these implications may lead to the reconsideration or rejection of the model.
Clinical and immunologic impact of CCR5 blockade in graft-versus-host disease prophylaxis
Authors: Moy Ryan H. , Huffman Austin P. , Richman Lee P. , Crisalli Lisa , Wang Ximi K. , Hoxie James A. , Mick Rosemarie , Emerson Stephen G. , Zhang Yi , Vonderheide Robert H. , Porter David L. , Reshef Ran
Published: January 2017

Key Points

CCR5 blockade decreases peripheral T-cell activation, gut GVHD biomarkers, and acute GVHD incidence in allo-HSCT recipients. CXCR3-mediated lymphocyte trafficking may represent an important resistance mechanism to CCR5 blockade in GVHD prophylaxis.
Hierarchical Maximum Likelihood Parameter Estimation for Cumulative Prospect Theory: Improving the Reliability of Individual Risk Parameter Estimates
Authors: Murphy Ryan O. , ten Brincke Robert H. W.
Published: January 2017

An individual’s tolerance of risk can be quantified by using decision models with tuned parameters that maximally fit a set of risky choices the individual has made. A goal of this model fitting procedure is to identify parameters that correspond to stable underlying risk preferences. These preferences can be modeled as an individual difference, indicating a particular decision maker’s tastes and willingness to accept risk. Using hierarchical statistical methods, we show significant improvements in the reliability of individual risk preference parameter estimates over other common methods for cumulative prospect theory. This hierarchical procedure uses population-level information (in addition to an individual’s choices) to break “ties” (or near ties) in the fit quality for sets of possible risk preference parameters. By breaking these statistical ties in a sensible way, researchers can avoid overfitting choice data and thus more resiliently measure individual differences in people’s risk preferences.

This paper was accepted by Yuval Rottenstreich, judgment and decision making.
Rapidly Expanding Infectious Aortic Aneurysm Caused by Perforated Colon Cancer
Authors: Rajab Taufiek , Rinewalt Daniel , Belkin Michael , Goldberg Joel , Zhou Haiyang
Published: January 2017

A 50-year-old male smoker presented with a perforated colon cancer and underwent an extended right colectomy. Feculent peritonitis was treated with empiric antibiotics. Postoperatively he developed severe back pain and rising leukocytosis. Serial computed tomography revealed a rapidly expanding infrarenal aortic aneurysm. He was urgently treated with extra-anatomic bypasses and aortic resection. No organisms grew from the resected aortic wall. He was discharged in stable condition, and the ileostomy was reversed 9 months later.
Leading together: Collaboration among senior healthcare executives
Authors: Mitra Mahima , Dopson Sue , Brankin Paul , Hoff Timothy
Published: January 2017

Healthcare systems across the world face the dual challenge of balancing between the provision of affordable, good quality and timely healthcare on the one hand; while innovating constantly to enhance efficiency amid increasing resource shortfalls, on the other. Their success is contingent upon the presence of strong organisational leadership that harnesses the inherent collaborative potential of both physician and non-physician executives. This study sought insight into the day-to-day experiences of healthcare leaders in the NHS. We conducted 24 in-depth interviews with senior NHS physician and non-physician leaders around their experiences of working together, opportunities and challenges to effective collaboration, and identification of best practices relating to shared decision-making. The executives interviewed had job titles including chief operating officer, medical director, and clinical director. Our findings suggest that collaborative leaders in healthcare are not born but created through a complex interplay of personal, cultural, and structural best practices that require active attention in the everyday leadership setting. Our research has direct implications for healthcare practice and will be useful to healthcare executives and decision-makers across the UK, and healthcare systems internationally.
Time to reduce the early years documentation trail
Authors: Snell Lisa
Published: January 2017

Lisa Snell explains how practitioners can manage paperwork more effectively to provide better overall outcomes for children, and how some in the sector are making use of new technologies and processes.
We need to rediscover the art of the conversation
Authors: Skinner Don
Published: January 2017

Central to improving education outcomes is more effective conversation and discussion with young children. This entails better understanding of its nature and role, and a rethink of interaction strategies.
Improving community prescribing of post-fracture denosumab after discharge
Authors: Wood Helen , Lewis Harriet , Ward Rachael , Solanki Tarun , Fernando Prabhath
Published: January 2017

Background:

In the UK, denosumab is usually started by hospital clinicians and continued by primary care physicians in the community, but in the authors' region denosumab is a ‘green light’ drug, only prescribed by the primary care team. The authors suspected that a proportion of patients who were recommended to start the drug after a neck of femur fracture were not receiving this on discharge. They aimed to improve the prescribing of denosumab by implementing a quality improvement project.

Methods:

A retrospective review of electronic records and case notes in primary and secondary care was undertaken, focusing on patients who were admitted with a neck of femur fracture and recommended denosumab. Following cycle 1 of the project two interventions were implemented: Denosumab written on the inpatient prescription chart at point of treatment decision, promoting inclusion in the discharge summary A consultant letter recommending denosumab was sent separately to primary care, in addition to inclusion in the discharge summary. Following these interventions this project cycle was repeated.

Results:

A total of 91 patients with a neck of femur fracture were identified during cycle 1 and 22/91 (24%) were recommended denosumab. However, only five of these 22 patients (22%) received the drug. Following the interventions 23/26 eligible patients (88%) were prescribed denosumab (three patients did not have a prescription with no reason given), and 17/23 (74%) had the injection given. Four patients who did not receive the denosumab injection had no obvious reason for not starting treatment. In the other two patients, one discharge summary misleadingly stated that the injection had been given as an inpatient and one patient had recurrent admissions following discharge after their neck of femur fracture so primary care had not had any opportunity to administer the injection.

Conclusions:

Prescribing denosumab on the inpatient drug chart and highlighting its use in a consultant-written letter to the primary care team improved prescribing and administering of denosumab in the community.
Inter-state differences in caste-specific risks for child deprivation in India
Authors: Ekbrand Hans , Nandy Shailen
Published: January 2017

The issue of caste has long been an important structural cause of poverty in India, with certain groups and communities socially and physically excluded from the benefits of national economic and social development. While differences between groups are often explained at national and state levels, this paper focuses instead on the issue of inter-state caste-specific risks of child poverty and basic needs deprivation. We show that while children from schedule caste and tribe (SC/ST) communities fare poorly at the national level, it need not be so given some states manage to protect SC/ST children, ensuring outcomes for them are on a par or better than for children from higher caste groups. Caste and tribe status need not condemn children to lives of poverty, and this paper identifies for policy makers where caste and tribe status remain important drivers of poverty and disparities for children. Tackling these would be a start for making India a more equitable society in coming decades.
Stranded traces: Migrants’ objects, self-narration and ideology in a failed museum project
Authors: Gatta Gianluca
Published: January 2017

The article will discuss the uneven path of the bottom-up Museum of Migration Project in Lampedusa, involving local and national associations, as well as the Town Council. In recounting this failed experience, this text will particularly try to grasp the use and ‘property’ of the objects and personal documents lost or taken away from migrants, the degree of involvement of the subjects directly concerned, and the ideological and political rifts that occurred around this project.
‘The Jenner genes definitely helped her’: Kardashians, Jenners and the intersectional politics of thinness
Authors: Cobb Gemma
Published: January 2017

Pro-anorexia online spaces have received widespread criticism for their endorsement of anorexia nervosa via the posting of advice on self-starvation and images of thin models and celebrities known as ‘thinspiration’. They are considered marginal spaces for individuals who wish to maintain anorexia, and they are consequently subject to deletion and censorship by Internet moderators, and vilification by the Press. In spite of this, I suggest that their conception of thinness overlaps with that which is perpetuated by the mainstream media. Analysis of the representation of model and celebrity Kendall Jenner, who appears regularly in the mainstream media and pro-anorexia spaces alike, reveals this. Therefore, in this article, I interrogate the construction of the thin ideal in a celebrity gossip site’s discussion thread on Kendall. She is initially presented as the embodiment of ideal thinness through the castigation and othering of her Kardashian sisters who are cruelly derided. As the thread progresses however and Kendall grows up, she is gradually denied her thinspirational status. I argue that the veneration and denigration of Kendall Jenner exposes the transience of the thin ideal and its attendant anxieties. Using intersectionality as my critical paradigm, I explore the way in which a number of privileges are required to fulfil the thin ideal. As a result, I propose that it is young, middle-class, white femininity which is considered ‘thinspirational’.
Book Review
Authors: Neri Ludovica
Published: January 2017

Simmel on Fashion: A Commented Reading of the 1911 Essay, Giovanni Matteucci (2015), Bruno Mondadori-Pearson: Milan and Turin (Book Series ‘Cultures, Fashion and Society’s Notebooks’), 46 pp., ISBN: 9788867741205, epub, €2.99
Meso-celebrities, fashion and the media: How digital influencers struggle for visibility
Authors: Pedroni Marco
Published: January 2017

This article analyses the Italian field of fashion blogging in relation to the theme of celebrity, which is directly linked to the media visibility of bloggers. Relying on the concept of blogging as a social field in which many agents struggle for the symbolic dominance of space, the notions of micro-celebrity and celebrity are discussed. An intermediate category – that of meso-celebrity – is coined to identify a central portion of the field which comprises a few hundred bloggers characterized by a professional approach to blogging, by a structured relationship with the media and companies, and a visibility at national level. The meso-celebrities are described as occupying a position far from both the few celebrities in the field and the thousands of microcelebrities who live in the shadows of the web. Wendy Griswold’s cultural diamond is used to conclude that bloggers relate to diverse fields of cultural production at the same time (the fashion media, of which blogging is a sub-field; fashion production; the field of celebrity). Fashion bloggers work to promote themselves as commodities in those fields, with a level of success that depends on the amount of celebrity capital that they are able to accumulate. The social world created in and around the fashion blogging field is described as being permeated by a celebrity culture which is symbolically led by a small number of internationally renowned bloggers but is driven by the meso-celebrities. Meso-celebrity is finally described as a result of the gradual reciprocal adaptation between old and new fashion media, with the latter able to alter the practices of the former.
The unexpected body: From Sara Baartman to Caster Semenya
Authors: Orgeret Kristin Skare
Published: January 2017

The article draws lines between the historical example of Saartjie Baartman, the so-called Hottentot Venus, and the ‘Caster Semenya case’ – the 18-year old South African athlete who won the women’s 800 metres in the World Championship in 2009, and had to undergo ‘gender testing’. It looks into how the South African press covered the case of Semenya in the light of identity and power processes. How did the Semenya case feed into broader political and cultural processes in South Africa? The discussion shows how the concept of identity politics is multifaceted – covering issues such as sex, gender, ethnicity, colour, status and class while reflecting colonial as well as postcolonial realities.
I am because you are
Authors: Claid Emilyn
Published: January 2017

This article expands a keynote address given at the conference Ethics & Repair, Dance & Somatics Practices, at Coventry University (2015). Part One is an effort to understand a basic ethical tenet – respect of otherness – inviting an understanding of how to be with difference through a somatic sense of oneself as related, separate and in between. Part Two draws on this respect of otherness to offer a second discussion concerning dance training for performance. Somatic practices nurture an ethical relationship to others and the environment, contributing to physical and psychological change. Over the past twenty years somatic practices have come to form the foundation of contemporary dance training, disrupting competitively attained acquisition and achievement of spectacular technical skill. I Am Because You Are gives this dilemma in dance training some air space, to blow through currents of thought.
The value of sharing practitioner wisdom in a learning and teaching context for training contemporary dancers in a conservatoire
Authors: Redding Emma , Lefebvre Sell Naomi , Curtis-Jones Alison
Published: January 2017

This article sets out to interpret the experience of three practitioners who are engaged with higher education contemporary dance training. It outlines an investigation into how the sharing of their teaching practices and approaches has allowed them to gain further insight into concerns they share between them. They will advocate the value of sharing practitioner wisdom and will explain how their teaching practices are supported by a non-hierarchical, dialogical student–teacher environment. The three practitioner voices will be heard as they move through the binary decisions that present themselves as they engage in a framework of sharing and renewing.
Reflections on phenomenology, spirituality, dance and movement-based somatics
Authors: Williamson Amanda
Published: January 2017

This article shares academic reflections on applied transcendental and existential phenomenology to dance and movement-based somatics. The article sheds light on how phenomenological traditions and somatically informed movement call us into a deepening exploration and care for the human condition, and how this care for life can be understood as an embodied spirituality of reflection and enactment in the world. The article therefore examines how pedagogical approaches in movementbased somatics attend to our earthly embodied temporal life-journey, and akin to existential phenomenology, are actively engaged in potent issues regarding one’s freedom within facticity, situatedness and contingency. Here I provide experiential touchstones imbedded in transcendental and existential phenomenal enquiry, and applied to moving experience. Freedom, a main concern in this article, is explored in relation to transcendence from within sedimentation, acculturation and objectification. Focusing on the primary texts of Sartre, Heidegger, Merleau-Ponty and the secondary phenomenal text of Todres, the article is divided into the following sections: ‘Reflections on freedom’; ‘Reflections on time, embodied temporality and the imagination’; ‘Sartre’s being-in-itself and being-for-itself’; ‘Heidegger’s authenticity and inauthenticity’; ‘Nothingness, objectification, self-objectification and its release’; and lastly, ‘Freedom from conceptual rationalism in language’. Additionally, I trace broad connections between movement-based somatics, spirituality and phenomenology through four definitional preludes. My aim is not to provide determinate analysis, but rather to offer a practice-based explorative spring board for students researching and somatically moving within the realms of phenomenology. A further aim is to highlight how existential phenomenology, with its focus on human vulnerability, provides an intimate lens of spirituality intentionally directed towards the contingency of world. Given the emphasis phenomenology places on aesthetics and poiesis, I offer practice-based movement enactments, imagery and poetry within this article.
Unsettling relations: Disrupting the ethical subject in fan studies research
Authors: Whiteman Natasha
Published: January 2017

This article takes as its focus the strategies by which ethical stances are established and legitimized in fan studies writing. It argues that, as a matter of ethics, such stances should always be placed under interrogation. This can be achieved by disrupting the entities that are often invoked in claims about what constitutes ethical practice in research – ones that may otherwise quickly become naturalized points of reference. Using as an exemplar Busse and Hellekson’s articulation of the ‘fans first’ principle, the article considers how ethical positions become sedimented and normalized within academic fields of practice. In doing so, the article develops some counter-principles for an ethical destabilization and (where necessary) dismantling of received ethical subjectivities in fan studies research.
Event Reviews
Authors: Barbieri Donatella , Notarfrancisco Sabrina , Thomas Phoenix
Published: January 2017

Costume before and beyond the production: The SpaceLab costume workshops at Prague Quadrennial, 18–28 June 2015

The 56th annual United States Institute for Theatre Technology Conference and Stage Expo (USITT 2016) Salt Palace Convention Center, Salt Lake City, Utah, United States, 16–19 March 2016

International Federation of Theatre Research (IFTR) 2016 Conference Stockholm University, Stockholm, 13–17 June 2016
NOMENCLATURE AND TYPIFICATION OF MUSA SALACCENSIS ZOLL. EX KURZ (MUSACEAE)
Authors: VELDKAMP J. F. , SULISTYANINGSIH LULUT DWI
Published: January 2017

VELDKAMP, J. F. & SULISTYANINGSIH, L. D. 2015. Nomenclature and typification of Musa salaccensis Zoll. ex Kurz (Musaceae). Reinwardtia 14(2): 299 - 302. - A nomenclatural history is given for Musa salaccensis (Musaceae) from Java and Sumatra, Indonesia. Previous typifications are rejected and a lectotype is designated here from original material.
ASPLENIUM TENERUM VAR. PALLIDUM IS THE CORRECT NAME FOR A. THUNBERGII VAR. BELANGERI (ASPLENIACEAE)
Authors: VELDKAMP J. F. , WARDANI WITA
Published: January 2017

VELDKAMP J. F. & WARDANI, W. 2015. Asplenium tenerum var. pallidum is the correct name for A. thunbergii var. belangeri (Aspleniaceae). Reinwardtia 14(2): 303 - 306. - Asplenium tenerum G. Forst. var. pallidum (Blume) Veldk. & Wardani, comb. nov. (Aspleniaceae), is the correct name for what usually is known as A. thunbergii Kunze var. belangeri (Bory) Kunze. Types are designated.
Adaptação do “PourThru” para avaliação de substratos com diferentes granulometrias
Authors: Ludwig Fernanda , Guerrero Amaralina Celoto , Ferreira Guilherme Amaral , Fernandes Dirceu Maximino , Villas Bôas Roberto Lyra
Published: January 2017

Periodic monitoring of the substrate solution allows the nutritional control of plants to be done more quickly and conveniently. In order to this monitoring become a routine among the producers of potted flowers, a standardization of non-destructive methods and easy application are required. This study was conducted in order to adapt of the “PourThru” methodology for substrate evaluation with different particle sizes. It was conducted on substrates with different particle sizes. Two tests were performed to define the amount of water to be applied, the time between irrigation and the collect of the leachate. Both tests were done using substrates with grain size 4-2 mm, 2-1 mm <4 mm <2 mm <1 mm and four repetitions. For the test I, we used the factorial 5 x 4 (5 particle sizes and 4 volumes of water), with volumes of 50, 75, 100 and 125 mL. For test II, we used the 5 x 5 factorial (5 granulometry balance and 5 times), with times of 30, 60, 90, 120 and 150 minutes. The leach solution was evaluated for electrical conductivity and pH. The methodology presented showed constraints when the substrates had particle sizes between 4 and 2 mm, and less than 1 mm. The larger the particle sizes is, the greater is the formation of preferential channels that leads to the possibility of mixing the water used as carrier and the solution to be leached is. The smaller the particle size is, the greater is the tendency of adsorption of the nutrients by the particles. For the pine bark substrate and vase with 1.3 L, it is suggested 60 minutes as settling time and the application of 75 mL of water for leaching the displacement.