bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Large-Eddy simulation analysis of spark configuration effect on cycle-to-cycle variability of combustion and knock
Authors: Fontanesi Stefano , d’Adamo Alessandro , Rutland Christopher J
Published: January 2015

Cycle-to-cycle variability is numerically simulated for high-speed, full-load operation of a turbocharged gasoline direct injection engine. Large-Eddy simulation is adopted to replicate the fluctuations of the flow field affecting the turbulent combustion. Experimental data were provided at knock onset, and large-Eddy simulation was validated for the same condition. In the original engine configuration, the spark plug is displaced toward the exhaust side, while the electrodes orientation is arbitrary. A 90° rotation is imposed to evaluate the effects of the aerodynamic obstruction caused by the electrode with respect to the flow field and the flame kernel growth. A second speculative analysis is performed modifying the position of the spark plug. The electrodes are shifted 2mm toward the intake side since this variation is compatible with the cylinder head layout. For both variations in orientation and position, the effects on the flow field around the spark plug are investigated. Statistical analysis is carried out on early flame kernel formation and knock tendency. The results highlight that the orientation of the electrodes affects the flow field for each cycle but plays a negligible role on the statistical cyclic variability, indirectly justifying the lack of an imposed orientation. As for the spark plug position, the numerical analysis indicate that the shifting of the electrodes toward the intake side slightly improves the knock limit mainly because of a reduction in in-cylinder peak pressure. In general, it is inferred that improvements may be achieved only through a simultaneous modification of the fuel jet orientation and phasing.
Cox regression models with functional covariates for survival data
Authors: Gellar Jonathan E. , Colantuoni Elizabeth , Needham Dale M. , Crainiceanu Ciprian M.
Published: January 2015

We extend the Cox proportional hazards model to cases when the exposure is a densely sampled functional process, measured at baseline. The fundamental idea is to combine penalized signal regression with methods developed for mixed effects proportional hazards models. The model is fit by maximizing the penalized partial likelihood, with smoothing parameters estimated by a likelihood-based criterion such as AIC or EPIC. The model may be extended to allow for multiple functional predictors, time varying coefficients, and missing or unequally spaced data. Methods were inspired by and applied to a study of the association between time to death after hospital discharge and daily measures of disease severity collected in the intensive care unit, among survivors of acute respiratory distress syndrome.
‘Deferred or chickened out?’ Decision making among male carers of people with dementia
Authors: Sampson Michelle S. , Clark Andrew
Published: January 2015

In this paper, we present new insight into the ways in which carers of people with dementia make decisions in the context of seemingly declining autonomy and freedom associated with the condition. Our focus is on the ways in which carers reflect on decisions made in different temporal contexts (day-to-day, medium- and long term). Drawing on data and analysis from in-depth interviews with male informal carers of women with mild to moderate dementia living in the northwest of England, we outline how the decision-making process is dependent on the temporality of the decisions. Arguably unsurprisingly, we found that short-term or ‘day-to-day’ decisions were made with input from those cared for, while longer term decisions were deferred until a point when necessity meant carers had to make decisions themselves. However, and importantly, carers were aware of the implications of how they were making decision, including the potential impact in terms of partial withdrawal, or even full denial, of autonomy of those they care for. Consequently, we argue that carers adopt a form of practised autonomy to negotiate the complexity of everyday decision making while managing longer term uncertainty and anxiety.
Sex Offender Recidivism Revisited
Authors: Kim Bitna , Benekos Peter J. , Merlo Alida V.
Published: January 2015

The effectiveness of sex offender treatment programs continues to generate misinformation and disagreement. Some literature reviews conclude that treatment does not reduce recidivism while others suggest that specific types of treatment may warrant optimism. The principal purpose of this study is to update the most recent meta-analyses of sex offender treatments and to compare the findings with an earlier study that reviewed the meta-analytic studies published from 1995 to 2002. More importantly, this study examines effect sizes across different age populations and effect sizes across various sex offender treatments. Results of this review of meta-analyses suggest that sex offender treatments can be considered as “proven” or at least “promising,” while age of participants and intervention type may influence the success of treatment for sex offenders. The implications of these findings include achieving a broader understanding of intervention moderators, applying such interventions to juvenile and adult offenders, and outlining future areas of research.
Ga-68 MAA Perfusion 4D-PET/CT Scanning Allows for Functional Lung Avoidance Using Conformal Radiation Therapy Planning
Authors: Siva Shankar , Devereux Thomas , Ball David L. , MacManus Michael P. , Hardcastle Nicholas , Kron Tomas , Bressel Mathias , Foroudi Farshad , Plumridge Nikki , Steinfort Daniel , Shaw Mark , Callahan Jason , Hicks Rodney J. , Hofman Michael S.
Published: January 2015

Background:

Ga-68-macroaggregated albumin (68Ga-perfusion) positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) is a novel imaging technique for the assessment of functional lung volumes. The purpose of this study was to use this imaging technique for functional adaptation of definitive radiotherapy plans in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Methods:

This was a prospective clinical trial of patients with NSCLC who received definitive 3-dimensional (3D) conformal radiotherapy to 60 Gy in 30 fx and underwent pretreatment respiratory-gated (4-dimensional [4D]) perfusion PET/CT. The “perfused” lung volume was defined as all lung parenchyma taking up radiotracer, and the “well-perfused” lung volume was contoured using a visually adapted threshold of 30% maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax). Alternate 3D conformal plans were subsequently created and optimized to avoid perfused and well-perfused lung volumes. Functional dose volumetrics were compared using mean lung dose (MLD), V5 (volume receiving 5 Gy or more), V10, V20, V30, V40, V50, and V60 parameters.

Results:

Fourteen consecutive patients had alternate radiotherapy plans created based on functional lung volumes. When considering the original treatment plan, the dose to perfused and well-perfused functional lung volumes was similar to that of the conventional anatomical lung volumes with an average MLD of 12.15, 12.67, and 12.11 Gy, respectively. Plans optimized for well-perfused lung improved functional V30, V40, V50, and V60 metrics (all P values <.05). The functional MLD of well-perfused lung was improved by a median of 0.86 Gy, P < .01. However, plans optimized for perfused lung only showed significant improvement in the functional V60 dose parameter (median 1.00%, P = .04) but at a detriment of a worse functional V5 (median 3.33%, P = .05).

Conclusions:

This study demonstrates proof of principle that 4D-perfusion PET/CT may enable functional lung avoidance during treatment planning of patients with NSCLC. Radiotherapy plans adapted to well-perfused but not perfused functional lung volumes allow for reduction in dose to functional lung using 3D conformal radiotherapy.
Quality Assurance of a 50-kV Radiotherapy Unit Using EBT3 GafChromic Film
Authors: Steenbeke Femke , Gevaert Thierry , Tournel Koen , Engels Benedikt , Verellen Dirk , Storme Guy , De Ridder Mark
Published: January 2015

Purpose:

Radiochromic EBT3 film is gaining acceptance as a valuable dosimetry system for high-energy photon beams. The advantages of these films over other dosimetry systems are low spectral sensitivity and high spatial resolution. The aim of this study was to validate EBT3 film as a dosimeter for machine and treatment quality assurance (QA) of a 50-kV radiotherapy unit.

Methods and Materials:

Absolute and relative doses were acquired using EBT3 GafChromic films and compared to a parallel-plate ionization chamber (IC), the standard IC for low-energy X-rays. EBT3 was also used to evaluate beam profiles and output factors. Two films above each other, mimicking the clinical situation of a dosimeter on top of the skin, were simultaneously irradiated to evaluate EBT3 as in vivo dosimeter. All films were irradiated for 3 minutes, which corresponds with a surface dose of 3.25 ± 0.07 Gy.

Results:

A fifth-order polynomial function was found to be the best fit for the calibration curves. Good agreement between IC and EBT3 was found for absolute (0.92% for green and red color channels) and relative (1.2% and 1.0% for green and red color channels, respectively) dosimetry. Output factors for IC and EBT3 were comparable within 2.04% and 1.02% for the green and red color channels, respectively. Flatness and symmetry at the surface were within 2%. By applying film as in vivo dosimeter, an absorption of 4.70% needs to be taken into account with respect to the surface dose.

Conclusion:

EBT3 GafChromic film is a feasible and valuable QA and dosimetry tool for a 50-kV radiotherapy unit. EBT3 can be used for absolute and relative dosimetry, measurement of output factors and beam profiles. In vivo patient-specific QA can also be performed if one corrects for the dose absorption of the film.
microRNA-143 is associated with the survival of ALDH1+CD133+ osteosarcoma cells and the chemoresistance of osteosarcoma
Authors: Zhou Jiahui , Wu Song , Chen Yuxiang , Zhao Jingfeng , Zhang Kexiang , Wang Jianlong , Chen Shijie
Published: January 2015

This study investigated the role of miR-143 in the chemoresistance of osteosarcoma tumor cells and the associated mechanisms. Real-time PCR was used to measure miR-143 levels. Western blot was used to detect protein expression. Cell proliferation was analyzed by MTT assay and Matrigel colony formation assay. Forced miR-143 expression was established by adenoviral vector infection. Cell death was detected by Hoechst33342 staining. Loss of miR-143 expression was observed in osteosarcomas, which correlated with shorter survival of patients with osteosarcomas underlying chemotherapy. In chemoresistant SAOS-2 and U2OS osteosarcomas cells, miR-143 levels were significantly downregulated and accompanied by increases in ATG2B, Bcl-2, and/or LC3-II protein levels, high rate of ALDH1+CD133+ cells, and an increase in Matrigel colony formation ability. H2O2 upregulated p53 and miR-143, but downregulated ATG2B, Bcl-2, and LC3-I expression in U2OS cells (wild-type p53) but not in SAOS-2 (p53-null) cells. Forced miR-143 expression significantly reversed chemoresistance as well as downregulation of ATG2B, LC3-I, and Bcl-2 expression in SAOS-2- and U2OS-resistant cells. Forced miR-143 expression significantly inhibited tumor growth in xenograft SAOS-2-Dox and U2OS-Dox animal models. Loss of miR-143 expression is associated with poor prognosis of patients with osteosarcoma underlying chemotherapy. The chemoresistance of osteosarcoma tumor cells to doxorubicin is associated with the downregulation of miR-143 expression, activation of ALDH1+CD133+ cells, activation of autophagy, and inhibition of cell death. miR-143 may play a crucial role in the chemoresistance of osterosarcoma tumors.
Phagocytosis of platelets enhances endothelial cell survival under serum deprivation
Authors: Jiang Ping , Ren Ya-Li , Lan Yong , Li Jia-Liang , Luo Jun , Li Jian , Cai Jian-Ping
Published: January 2015

Platelets are key players in fundamental processes of vascular biology, such as angiogenesis, tissue regeneration, and tumor metastasis. However, the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. In this study, some tumor vascular endothelial cells were positively stained by antiplatelet antibodies. Further investigation revealed that platelets were taken up by endothelial cells in vitro and in vivo. Human umbilical vascular endothelial cells were rendered apoptotic under conditions of serum deprivation. However, endothelial apoptosis was suppressed and cell viability was enhanced when platelets were added to the cultures. Endothelial survival was paralleled by an upregulation of phosphorylated Akt and p70 S6K. In conclusion, this study demonstrated that platelets can be phagocytosed by endothelial cells, and the phagocytosed platelets could suppress endothelial apoptosis and promote cell viability level. The mechanism underlying this process involves the activation of Akt signaling.
Thyroid hormone alleviates demyelination induced by cuprizone through its role in remyelination during the remission period
Authors: Zhang Mao , Zhan Xiao L , Ma Zi Y , Chen Xing S , Cai Qi Y , Yao Zhong X
Published: January 2015

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a disease induced by demyelination in the central nervous system, and the remission period of MS is crucial for remyelination. In addition, abnormal levels of thyroid hormone (TH) have been identified in MS. However, in the clinic, insufficient attention has been paid to the role of TH in the remission period. Indeed, TH not only functions in the development of the brain but also affects myelination. Therefore, it is necessary to observe the effect of TH on remyelination during this period. A model of demyelination induced by cuprizone (CPZ) was used to observe the function of TH in remyelination during the remission period of MS. Through weighing and behavioral tests, we found that TH improved the physical symptoms of mice impaired by CPZ. Supplementation of TH led to the repair of myelin as detected by immunohistochemistry and western blot. In addition, a sufficient TH supply resulted in an increase in myelinated axons without affecting myelin thickness and g ratio in the corpus callosum, as detected by electron microscopy. Double immunostaining with myelin basic protein and neurofilament 200 (NF200) showed that the CPZ-induced impairment of axons was alleviated by TH. Conversely, insufficient TH induced by 6-propyl-2-thiouracil resulted in the enlargement of mitochondria. Furthermore, we found that an adequate supply of TH promoted the proliferation and differentiation of oligodendrocyte lineage cells by immunofluorescence, which was beneficial to remyelination. Further, we found that TH reduced the number of astrocytes without affecting microglia. Conclusively, it was shown that TH alleviated demyelination induced by CPZ by promoting the development of oligodendrocyte lineage cells and remyelination. The critical time for remyelination is the remission period of MS. TH plays a significant role in alleviating demyelination during the remission period in the clinical treatment of MS.
Alienated Playbour
Authors: Taylor Nicholas , Bergstrom Kelly , Jenson Jennifer , de Castell Suzanne
Published: January 2015

This article explores the play practices of EVE Online industrialists: those primarily responsible for generating the materials and equipment that drive the game’s robust economy. Applying the concept of “immaterial labor” to this underattended aspect of the EVE community, we consider the range of communicative and informational artifacts and activities industrialists enact in support of their involvement in the game—work that happens both in game and crucially outside of it. Moving past the increasingly anachronistic distinctions between digitally mediated labor and leisure, in game and out of game, we examine the relations of production in which these players are situated: to other EVE players, in-game corporations, the game’s developer, and the broader digital economy. Seen from this perspective, we consider the extent to which EVE both ideologically and economically supports the extension of capital into increasing aspects of our everyday lives—a “game” in which many play, but few win.
Animated Frustration or the Ambivalence of Player Agency
Authors: Johnson Daniel
Published: January 2015

Frustration is an everyday experience for many users of game media. Distinct from related sensations such as difficulty, frustration is perhaps best characterized as when the agency of the player becomes obstructed. This can lead to the feeling of an ambivalent, uncooperative relationship with the game machine. This article will focus on two examples to demonstrate some of the possible manifestations of frustration in game media. The first, “Steel Battalion: Heavy Armor,” will deal with motion control gestures that are misinterpreted by the game in a way that obstructs the player’s ability to interact with the game. The second, “Papers, Please,” will consider repetitive gameplay that limits the player’s actions. Drawing on recent scholarship in animation studies, both cases will be approached as a form of what Sianne Ngai describes as “animatedness,” the feeling of becoming an automaton and of having one’s agency frustrated by technology.
Automated measurements for individualized heart rate correction of the QT interval
Authors: Mason Jay W , Moon Thomas E
Published: January 2015

Background:

Subject-specific electrocardiographic QT interval correction for heart rate is often used in clinical trials with frequent electrocardiographic recordings. However, in these studies relatively few 10-s, 12-lead electrocardiograms may be available for calculating the individual correction. Highly automated QT and RR measurement tools have made it practical to measure electrocardiographic intervals on large volumes of continuous electrocardiogram data. The purpose of this study was to determine whether an automated method can be used in lieu of a manual method.

Methods:

In 49 subjects who completed all treatments in a four-armed crossover study we compared two methods for derivation of individualized rate-correction coefficients: manual measurement on 10-s electrocardiograms and automated measurement of QT and RR during continuous 24-h electrocardiogram recordings. The four treatments, received by each subject in a latin-square randomization sequence were placebo, moxifloxacin, and two doses of an investigational drug.

Results:

Analysis of continuous electrocardiogram data yielded a lower standard deviation of QT:RR regression values than the manual method, though the differences were not statistically significant. The within-subject and within-treatment coefficients of variation between the manual and automated methods were not significantly different. Corrected QT values from the two methods had similar rates of true and false positive identification of moxifloxacin’s QT prolonging effect.

Conclusion:

An automated method for individualized rate correction applied to continuous electrocardiogram data could be advantageous in clinical trials, as the automated method is simpler, is based upon a much larger volume of data, yields similar results, and requires no human over-reading of the measurements.
Successful implementation of a performance-related audit tool for sonographers
Authors: Parker PC , Byass OR
Published: January 2015

A robust, sustainable audit programme for diagnostic ultrasound is hard to implement and establish. It requires time and resources to develop and to be relevant to clinical practice. There is a need for all ultrasound practitioners to undertake continuing professional development that underpins their roles and responsibilities within the workplace. A project group was established to evaluate how sonographers undertake Continuing Professional Development, with a view to understanding if implementing a performance-related audit process could support Continuing Professional Development. The group reviewed their clinical practice with an aim of developing a clinical governance and audit programme that could support both the needs of the service and sonographers alike. Our project has demonstrated that the implementation of this audit and case review process has positively contributed to our service and provided a more transparent and tangible account of sonographer performance.
Obstetric ultrasound education for the developing world: A learning partnership with the World Federation for Ultrasound in Medicine and Biology
Authors: Baj N , Dubbins P , Evans JA
Published: January 2015

The ultrasound techniques in pregnancy e-learning project is an online resource commissioned and supported by the Education Committee of the World Federation for Ultrasound in Medicine and Biology (WFUMB). This currently consists of 10 e-learning sessions aimed at midwives and other health workers in developing countries where WFUMB has Educational Centres of Excellence, and in particular at those based mainly in rural communities at considerable distance from urban training centres. The project covers all of the basics of obstetric ultrasound such as fetal and maternal anatomy, ultrasound techniques, assessment in both early and late pregnancy, prediction of pregnancy complications and identification of common abnormalities that might interfere with delivery. The e-learning project complements a wider training programme which covers operator skills and machine controls, in order to minimise the time that the professional has to leave their rural, often poorly staffed, workplace to attend classroom-based courses in the city. Each session outlines often complex concepts using simple diagrams, interactive exercises and cine clips. Tips, tricks and best practice guidelines are provided in simple terms.
A comparison of sonography and radiography student scores in a cadaver anatomy class before and after the implementation of synchronous distance education
Authors: Bagley Jennifer Elaine , Randall K , Anderson MP
Published: January 2015

Distance education is a solution to expand medical imaging education to students who might not otherwise be able to obtain the education. It can be a mechanism to reduce the health care worker shortage in underserved areas. In some cases, distance education may be a disruptive technology, and might lower student performance. This study compares student scores in a cadaver anatomy course in the four cohorts preceding the implementation of distance education to the first three cohorts that took the course using a multiple campus design. The means and medians of the lecture exam average, the laboratory component score, and the final course score of the nondistance education cohorts were compared with those of the distance education cohorts using nonparametric statistical analysis. Scores in an anatomy course were compared by campus placement among the distance education cohorts, and the independent effect of distance education on the laboratory component, lecture examination average, and final course scores, while controlling for cumulative grade point average and site (originating/distant), was assessed. Students receiving the course in a nondistance education environment scored higher in the anatomy course than the students who took the course in a distance education environment. Students on the distant campus scored lower than students on the originating site. Distance education technology creates new opportunities for learning, but can be a disruptive technology. Programs seeking to implement distance education into their curriculum should do so with knowledge of the advantages and disadvantages.
The ScanTrainer obstetrics and gynaecology ultrasound virtual reality training simulator: A cost model to determine the cost viability of replacing clinical training with simulation training
Authors: Carolan-Rees G , Ray AF
Published: January 2015

The aim of this study was to produce an economic cost model comparing the use of the Medaphor ScanTrainer virtual reality training simulator for obstetrics and gynaecology ultrasound to achieve basic competence, with the traditional training method. A literature search and survey of expert opinion were used to identify resources used in training. An executable model was produced in Excel. The model showed a cost saving for a clinic using the ScanTrainer of £7114 per annum. The uncertainties of the model were explored and it was found to be robust. Threshold values for the key drivers of the model were identified. Using the ScanTrainer is cost saving for clinics with at least two trainees per year to train, if it would take at least six lists to train them using the traditional training method and if a traditional training list has at least two fewer patients than a standard list.
Reviewing the curriculum for physics and technology in postgraduate sonography courses
Authors: Oates Crispian P
Published: January 2015

Physics and technology is seen as a difficult subject by those training in medical ultrasound. The reasons for this are discussed. Who should teach the subject and what should be included are considered. Ways to approach the subject so as to make it more relevant and easier to learn are proposed and a basic syllabus is suggested in an appendix.
Just Looking: Justice as Seen in Hollywood Courtroom Films
Authors: Grossman Nerit
Published: January 2015

This article deals with three elements of the adversarial judicial process, conventionally viewed as expressing justice, and examines their meaning in the Hollywood courtroom film genre. These include the space (architecture and design) of the courtroom, the element of the lawyer’s duty, and the narrative of the legal process. We suggest that characteristics of the actual adversarial judicial process, accepted as showing how justice is achieved, are actually presented in a critical manner in courtroom films, and are often used to indicate the difficulty in attaining justice through the judicial process. This finding is surprising, given the law’s emphasis on the characteristics of justice as part of its social legitimization, and in light of the central tendency of genre films to support existing social institutions, the institution of the law among them.
The Discursive Side of New Institutionalism
Authors: Alasuutari Pertti
Published: January 2015

This article introduces various strands of neoinstitutionalism, with the focus on sociological institutionalism, particularly ‘Stanford School’ sociological institutionalism and discursive institutionalism. The article points out that in opposing individualist rational choice theory, sociological institutionalism takes a strong structuralist stance in which actors are depicted as agents constituted by the scripts of rationalist world culture, mindlessly enacting worldwide models. In contrast, discursive institutionalist scholarship focuses on research about the actual practices through which global ideas are incorporated in local contexts, as well as on the discourses that motivate actors in the modern world to behave so uniformly in several ways, even though the culture of modernity specifically celebrates individualism and sovereignty and denounces mindless compliance. These studies have highlighted the key role of local actors in the local-global interaction. Yet these orientations must not be seen as separate schools of thought, but rather as developments within neoinstitutionalist sociology. In other words, recent years have witnessed an increased interest in the forms of local-global interaction. Case analyses have shown that synchronization of national policies seems to be a side effect of local actors utilizing broadly shared ideas and values in justifying their political objectives.
Imaging pitfalls, normal anatomy, and anatomical variants that can simulate disease on cardiac imaging as demonstrated on multidetector computed tomography
Authors: Terpenning Silanath , White Charles S
Published: January 2015

Advances in computed tomography have led to continuous improvement in cardiac imaging. Dedicated postprocessing capabilities, faster scan times, and cardiac gating methods reveal details of normal cardiac anatomy and anatomic variants that can mimic pathologic conditions. This article will review normal cardiac anatomy and variants that can mimic disease. Radiologists should be familiar with normal cardiac anatomy and anatomic variants to avoid misinterpretation of normal findings for pathologic processes.
A multicenter randomized open-label study of rituximab plus rhTPO vs rituximab in corticosteroid-resistant or relapsed ITP
Authors: Zhou Hai , Xu Miao , Qin Ping , Zhang Hai-yan , Yuan Cheng-lu , Zhao Hong-guo , Cui Zhong-guang , Meng Yue-sheng , Wang Lei , Zhou Fang , Wang Xin , Li Da-qi , Bi Ke-hong , Zhu Chuan-sheng , Guo Cheng-shan , Chu Xiao-xia , Wu Qing-chao , Liu Xin-guang , Dong Xiao-yuan , Li Jie , Peng Jun , Hou Ming
Published: January 2015

Key Points

Rituximab plus recombinant human thrombopoietin is superior to rituximab monotherapy for corticosteroid-resistant or relapsed ITP patients.
Pomalidomide plus low-dose dexamethasone in multiple myeloma with deletion 17p and/or translocation (4;14): IFM 2010-02 trial results
Authors: Leleu Xavier , Karlin Lionel , Macro Margaret , Hulin Cyrille , Garderet Laurent , Roussel Murielle , Arnulf Bertrand , Pegourie Brigitte , Kolb Brigitte , Stoppa Anne Marie , Brechiniac Sabine , Marit Gerald , Thielemans Beatrice , Onraed Brigitte , Mathiot Claire , Banos Anne , Lacotte Laurence , Tiab Mourad , Dib Mamoun , Fuzibet Jean-Gabriel , Petillon Marie Odile , Rodon Philippe , Wetterwald Marc , Royer Bruno , Legros Laurence , Benboubker Lotfi , Decaux Olivier , Escoffre-Barbe Martine , Caillot Denis , Fermand Jean Paul , Moreau Philippe , Attal Michel , Avet-Loiseau Herve , Facon Thierry
Published: January 2015

Key Points

Pom-Dex is active and well tolerated in adverse cytogenetic patients with early RRMM, particularly in those with del(17p). Pom-Dex prolonged OS in adverse cytogenetic patients with early RRMM.
Mathematical modeling of combinatorial regulation suggests that apparent positive regulation of targets by miRNA could be an artifact resulting from competition for mRNA
Authors: Nyayanit Dimpal , Gadgil Chetan J.
Published: January 2015

MicroRNAs bind to and regulate the abundance and activity of target messenger RNA through sequestration, enhanced degradation, and suppression of translation. Although miRNA have a predominantly negative effect on the target protein concentration, several reports have demonstrated a positive effect of miRNA, i.e., increase in target protein concentration on miRNA overexpression and decrease in target concentration on miRNA repression. miRNA–target pair-specific effects such as protection of mRNA degradation owing to miRNA binding can explain some of these effects. However, considering such pairs in isolation might be an oversimplification of the RNA biology, as it is known that one miRNA interacts with several targets, and conversely target mRNA are subject to regulation by several miRNAs. We formulate a mathematical model of this combinatorial regulation of targets by multiple miRNA. Through mathematical analysis and numerical simulations of this model, we show that miRNA that individually have a negative effect on their targets may exhibit an apparently positive net effect when the concentration of one miRNA is experimentally perturbed by repression/overexpression in such a multi-miRNA multitarget situation. We show that this apparent unexpected effect is due to competition and will not be observed when miRNA interact noncompetitively with the target mRNA. This result suggests that some of the observed unusual positive effects of miRNA may be due to the combinatorial complexity of the system rather than due to any inherently unusual positive effect of the miRNA on its target.
Nostalgia for the Future: Remembrance of Things to Come in Doris Lessing’s Martha Quest
Authors: Solinger Frederick J.
Published: January 2015

Historically, nostalgia has a bad name. But what might an oppositional, regenerative nostalgia look like? In this article, it takes the form of a “nostalgia for the future,” a temporally-misoriented concept that is both a nostalgia for that which has yet to happen but feels as though it already has, and a nostalgia utilized for future revolutionary gain, a phenomenon best exemplified by Doris Lessing’s Martha Quest (1952). Nostalgia is often thought to begin at home, with a deep longing to return to an originary plenitude, but for white African settlers like the Quests, where is home? When living in self-exile with only a provisional dwelling, what is nostalgia’s object? Martha, unsettled by waves of nostalgia, uses her nostalgia to envision a homeland for black and white alike, a utopic golden city on the horizon that may have been and may yet be. Lessing returns to nostalgia’s past and remedicalizes the term to produce a “home-sickness,” waves of nostalgia set free from their traditional objects that thereby create a melancholy and despondency that rob one of presence and selfhood. In order to achieve her vision, Martha must overcome her home-sickness and wield her nostalgia so as to overpower racism and anti-Semitism.
Playing at Home: An Ecocritical Reading of Nadine Gordimer’s The Pickup
Authors: Mount Dana C.
Published: January 2015

In Nadine Gordimer’s The Pickup , Julie Summers follows the man she loves to his homeland, an unnamed desert country; leaves her comfortable cosmopolitan life behind; and finds a sense of place. Although the text superficially presents a simple love story its narrative tone undermines Julie’s quest and troubles her easy adoption of a new home. This article draws on South African ecocritical and postcolonial approaches to explore the ways in which Julie’s privilege informs her relationship with her environments. Namely, this article is interested in showing how the novel subtly questions whether a return to the land is possible in a context of legacies of apartheid and realities of globalisation in which land is never neutral (if it ever was). The Pickup is framed by questions of citizenship tied to place and presents a critique of the restorative power of the pastoral.
“Animal Tracks in the Margin”: Tracing the Absent Referent in Marian Engel’s Bear and J. M. Coetzee’s The Lives of Animals
Authors: Barrett Paul
Published: January 2015

This paper considers Carol Adams’ notion of the absent referent in Marian Engel’s Bear and J. M. Coetzee’s The Lives of Animals . I argue that both texts call for altered notions of reading and criticism that treat animals as presences but also contend with the difficulty of representing animals. Engel and Coetzee use different techniques to point to the impossibility of textual presence, in Adams’ sense, while also stressing the necessity of striving for a form of presence that represents animals beyond the logic of the absent referent.
Disordering the Border: Harryette Mullen’s Transa border Poetics in Muse & Drudge
Authors: Reimer Jennifer Andrea
Published: January 2015

This essay reads Harryette Mullen’s epic poem Muse & Drudge as an innovative text of the US-Mexico borderlands by focusing on Mullen’s literal and figurative transactions between multiple discourses, including Spanish, and the corresponding sets of material conditions these discourses conjure to understand how Muse & Drudge reveals the ongoing racialization and exploitation of African American women and Latinas. I identify a transa border politics in Muse & Drudge in which shared colonial histories unite Afro-Caribbean diasporic and borderlands subjects. In Mullen’s poetics, themes of separation, definition, and regulation are racialized concepts, deeply embedded in the violent histories of racial mixing and mestizaje that are both named outright and alluded to metaphorically by her hybridized language.
Postcolonial Servitude: Interiority and System in Daniyal Mueenuddin’s In Other Rooms, Other Wonders
Authors: Hai Ambreen
Published: January 2015

This article focuses on Pakistani-American writer Daniyal Mueenuddin’s notable first collection of interlinked short stories In Other Rooms, Other Wonders (2009) as an example of an emergent wave of contemporary transnational fiction that foregrounds the figure of the domestic servant as central rather than marginal and emphasizes diverse servants’ vulnerability and agency. The essay situates Mueenuddin’s fiction in the contexts of Anglophone South Asian literary history and Pakistan’s postcolonial feudal system and argues that he makes a significant intervention by crafting strategies of subaltern representation that explore servant interiority and highlight the interlocking systems of power that dehumanize stigmatized subaltern individuals locked in domestic servitude. It examines the intersections of gender, sexuality, and class evoked in Mueenuddin’s stories; the psychic complexities of individuals who struggle against habitual abjection, subordination, and disempowerment; and the ways that servants, working in the intimacy of employers’ homes, strive to ameliorate their lot within frameworks of patriarchy, corruption, and violence. Mueenuddin’s cultural work aims to shift readers’ ways of seeing, defamiliarize the familiar, and encourage empathy and ethical action in specific postcolonial contexts.
The Admiral’s Men, Shakespeare, and the Lost Arthurian Plays of Elizabethan England
Authors: White Paul Whitfield
Published: January 2015

Shakespeare’s Elizabethan acting company, the Lord Chamberlain’s Men, is not known to have staged any play centering on Arthurian heroes. This is not the case with the company’s rivals, the Lord Admiral’s Players. The Admiral’s not only performed the Arthurian romances Chinon of England (1596) and Trystram of Lyons (1599), but during the period of Shakespeare’s second Henriad they mounted their own cycle of chronicle plays— Vortiger (1596), Uther Pendragon (1597), The Lyfe and Death of Arthur, King of England (1598)—a historical trilogy that used Arthurian history as a lense through which to explore political questions of succession and the dangers of Catholic intervention from abroad.
Merlin’s Conception by Devil in William Rowley’s Play The Birth of Merlin
Authors: Obermeier Anita
Published: January 2015

Rowley’s early modern play amalgamates both the medieval Galfridian-based and Francophone narratives of Merlin’s conception by daemon, incubus, and devil in order to engage contemporary debates on the devil’s influence in the world, to ventriloquize social commentary via the figure of the Clown, and to have Merlin hail Prince Charles as the future Arthur.
The Influence of Tennyson’s Poems on Arthurian Drama
Authors: Lupack Alan
Published: January 2015

Tennyson’s Arthurian poems reshaped conceptions of the Arthurian stories and characters. Particularly influential were his depictions of Arthur and of Galahad and his creation of a final meeting between Arthur and Guinevere. While not limited to drama, Tennyson’s influence is seen in striking ways in Arthurian plays of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
Performing Nostalgia: Medievalism in King Arthur and Camelot
Authors: Haught Leah
Published: January 2015

Although written in distinct styles that reflect the different contexts in and audiences for which they were originally penned, Joseph Comyns Carr’s King Arthur and Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe’s Camelot both engage medievalism as a means of reimagining the relationship between past and present idealisms. A comparison of these two theatrical spectacles illustrates the extent to which Arthurian nostalgia can stage a connection among diverse audiences through its performance of a longing for universal or timeless ‘truths’ over specific historical moments.
Re-presenting Mordred: Three Plays of 1895
Authors: Yee Pamela M.
Published: January 2015

This article examines the portrayal of Mordred in three plays published in 1895 and suggests a late Victorian interest in psychologizing traditional villains, especially through the use of dramatic monologue. In appropriating the Malorian and/or Tennysonian versions of the character, Carr, Campbell, and Newbolt complicate our understanding of Mordred’s motives and re-present him as a Machiavellian schemer, a monstrous but pitiable avenger, and an idealistic maverick, respectively. Each of the three playwrights depicts Mordred as a more psychologically complex character than is traditional, and thus they provide radically revisionist accounts of the Arthurian narrative.
Modernismos periféricos. Claves para reescribir la historia del modernismo catalán en La Habana
Authors: Vega Jorge Núñez
Published: January 2015

Notre travail est une évaluation critique de la bibliographie sur l’évolution Modernisme catalan dans la Havane en deux étapes. La première se propose de découvrir l’identité nationale via l’architecture. La seconde conçoit l’espace « habanero » comme un univers complexe composé de divers fragments. Delors nous mettons en question, avec l’apport de nouveaux documents, l’image, tres présente dans les études sur le modernisme « habanero », d’une architecture inédite et de sa relation avec l’historicisme dans des contextes périphériques. De même, nous examinons la question de l’opposition de l’art à la réalité industrielle à partir de l’analyse de son particulier comportement à Cuba, et par des documents—littéraires dans ce cas—qui ont formé le goût ainsi qu’ une demande qui, selon notre démonstration, n’a pas été en rapport avec la tradition coloniale de la Caraïbe. Au contraire, cette demande répondait au désir de « vivre au grand », suivant des référents européens et à l’urgence de moderniser la capitale de la nouvelle république. Ainsi toute notre argumentation s’appui sur des images peux connues et inédites.
An Approximation of Puerto Rico’s Human Development Index
Authors: Fuentes-Ramírez Ricardo R.
Published: January 2015

Cet article applique la méthodologie la plus récente du programme des Nations Unis pour le Développement en s’alignant sur l’indice du développement humain et l’indice de développement humain ajusté aux inégalités de Porto Rico pour l’année 2012. Les résultats indiquent que le IDH que Porto Rico détient un niveau de développement humain très élevé. Alors que, IDHD le place dans la catégorie des pays à développement humain moyen. Cependant, il existe un décalage important entre le développement humain potentiel et le développement humain actuel de part les niveaux d’inégalité dans l’île.
Presidencialismo vs. provincialismo. El control de los poderes locales en Colombia
Authors: Mendoza Edwin Monsalvo
Published: January 2015

Grâce à l’analyse des sources documentaires tels que des lettres de notables locaux et le président de la République, la presse, les affiches, les témoignages de quelques contemporains, ce travail décrit l’une des élections les plus critiques de la première moitié XIXe siècle. En effet, il marque l˲arrivée au pouvoir de la faction la plus modérée du libéralisme. Notre hypothèse est que le pouvoir présidentiel en Colombie a vu réduire ses actions dans les provinces, en raison de la puissance qu˲ ils avaient les Chambres provinciales sur la liste des candidats qui devaient être nommés au poste de gouverneur.
Comerciantes italianos en Barranquilla, 1905-1919
Authors: Vidal Antonino , D’Amato Guissepe
Published: January 2015

L’article qui suit traite des réseaux commerciaux que les groupes de marchands italiens ont mis en place dans la ville de Barranquilla au début du vingtième siècle. Dans le cadre de notre recherche, nous décrivons le processus d’intégration de ces marchands lors de leur installation sur la côte colombienne caribéenne, comme composante essentielle du tissu économique du port commercial principal de l’economie Caribéenne. Nous avons examiné les réseaux commerciaux réginoaux et internationaux et que ces marchands ont établis.
De la prosperidad a la resistencia: La representación de Puerto Rico en la revista National Geographic (1898-2003)
Authors: Crespo Armáiz Jorge L.
Published: January 2015

Depuis sa creátion en 1888, la revue de l’organisation National Geographic Association preservé une image d’objectivité scientifique devant ses lecteurs en général. Cependant divers chercheurs on signalé que derrière cette image la revue a joué un rôle actif et très important dans la promotion des interêts géopolitiques des Etas Unis d’Amerique et la vision du monde des Américains, principalement à travers ses sphères de pouvoir. Dans le cas de Porto Rico, on peut identifier divers exemples et procédés au travers desquels l’image de l’île est contrôlée par les auteurs de la revue, aussi bien sur le plan textuel que visuel afin de servir la vision et les intérêts précites. Cependant ce type de répresentation n’est pas constante, car elle a fluctué à travers le temps selon l’évolution des intérêts geópolitiques de la métropole.
Negocios en la frontera: Agricultura, comercio y actividad extractiva en La Guajira colombiana, 1870-1930
Authors: de la Hoz Joaquín Viloria
Published: January 2015

L’objectif du présent document est d’analyser les activités commerciales dans le territoire de La Guajira colombienne, ainsi que les limitations institutionnelles et naturelles auxquelles ont été soumis leurs commerçants dans les décennies 1870-1930. L’étude formule l’hypothèse selon laquelle, dans la région de la Guajira, on a développé une économie de frontière, caractérisée par la faible présence institutionnelle, une vaste présence de population indigène, des zones inhospitalières et difficile d’accès et un commerce actif avec des pays et des territoires voisins comme le Venezuela, l’île de Curaçao, la Jamaïque et d’autres îles. Les chefs d’entreprise et les dirigeants régionaux associés aux activités d’extraction du sel, des perles, du bois de Campêche ainsi que le commerce, n’ont pas pu créer des institutions ni une atmosphère commerciale favorisant production endogène, avec des entreprises compétitives et un marché du travail adapté à la législation nationale.
Women’s Power and Community Resilience Rotating Savings and Credit Associations in Barbados and the Bahamas
Authors: Stoffle Brent W. , Stoffle Richard W. , Minnis Jessica , Van Vlack Kathleen
Published: January 2015

Beaucoup de gens dans les Caraïbes perçoivent les associations rotatives d’epargne et de crédit ou AREC comme étant originaires d’Afrique de l’ouest où elles étaient un moyen traditionell (pré-colonial) d’accumulation et de répartitions des ressources. Importées dans les Caraïbes en tant que culture immatérielle du peuple africain, les AREC ont été rétablies et adaptées aux nouvelles conditions sociales, politiques et économiques. Le défi pour les descendants d’Africains, a été la création de nouvelles communautés dans un environnement social suppresif où lesdites communautés étaient perçues comme una menace de l’ordre colonial établi. Cet article s’appuie sur des documents historiques et deux études ethnographiques distinctes incluant plus d’une centaine d’entrevues directes. Bien que les deux études menées l’une à la Barbade et l’autre dans le centre des Bahamas ont des objectifs différents, ces dernières convergent pour attester de l’importance de ces associations pour les femmes tant sur le plan historique que contemporain. Ce système de coopérative constitue la base de leurs communautés. Les résultats soutiennent que durant l’esclavage les AREC étaient utilisées par les femmes comme moyen d’atteindre le pouvoir (l’agentivité) et, ce faisant procurer de la résilience à leur communauté.
Solidarity, PA
Authors: Scher Abby
Published: January 2015

The first thing you notice about Reading, Pennsylvania, the small city that lies an hour and a half north of Philadelphia, is its many parks and muscular civic buildings. Mount Penn anchors the east of the city with a steeply landscaped park and a historic district of graceful homes. The Blue Mountains rise in the distance.