bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Regional Hippocampal Volumes and Development Predict Learning and Memory
Authors: Tamnes Christian K. , Walhovd Kristine B. , Engvig Andreas , Grydeland Håkon , Krogsrud Stine K. , Østby Ylva , Holland Dominic , Dale Anders M. , Fjell Anders M.
Published: June 2014

The hippocampus is an anatomically and functionally heterogeneous structure, but longitudinal studies of its regional development are scarce and it is not known whether protracted maturation of the hippocampus in adolescence is related to memory development. First, we investigated hippocampal subfield development using 170 longitudinally acquired brain magnetic resonance imaging scans from 85 participants aged 8-21 years. Hippocampal subfield volumes were estimated by the use of automated segmentation of 7 subfields, including the cornu ammonis (CA) sectors and the dentate gyrus (DG), while longitudinal subfield volumetric change was quantified using a nonlinear registration procedure. Second, associations between subfield volumes and change and verbal learning/memory across multiple retention intervals (5 min, 30 min and 1 week) were tested. It was hypothesized that short and intermediate memory would be more closely related to CA2-3/CA4-DG and extended, remote memory to CA1. Change rates were significantly different across hippocampal subfields, but nearly all subfields showed significant volume decreases over time throughout adolescence. Several subfield volumes were larger in the right hemisphere and in males, while for change rates there were no hemisphere or sex differences. Partly in support of the hypotheses, greater volume of CA1 and CA2-3 was related to recall and retention after an extended delay, while longitudinal reduction of CA2-3 and CA4-DG was related to learning. This suggests continued regional development of the hippocampus across adolescence and that volume and volume change in specific subfields differentially predict verbal learning and memory over different retention intervals, but future high-resolution studies are called for.
Competing Risks Model in Screening for Preeclampsia by Biophysical and Biochemical Markers at 30-33 Weeks' Gestation
Authors: Garcia-Tizon Larroca Santiago , Tayyar Ahmet , Poon Leona C. , Wright David , Nicolaides Kypros H.
Published: June 2014

Objective: To assess the risk for preeclampsia (PE) by maternal characteristics, uterine artery pulsatility index (Ut-PI), mean arterial pressure (MAP), serum placental growth factor (PlGF) and soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase-1 (sFlt-1) at 30-33 weeks' gestation. Methods: This was a screening study in singleton pregnancies including 2,140 that developed PE and 83,615 that were unaffected by PE. We developed a survival time model for the time of delivery for PE by combining maternal characteristics and history with Ut-PI, MAP, PlGF and sFlt-1 multiple of the median (MoM) values (combined test). Data on third-trimester MAP and Ut-PI were available in 350 cases of PE, and 13,878 unaffected pregnancies and data on PlGF and sFlt-1 were available in 118 cases of PE and 3,734 unaffected pregnancies. Modelled detection rate of all PE and PE requiring delivery within 4 and 6 weeks of the visit was estimated. Results: Screening by the combined test would detect 66, 98 and 86% of all PE and PE requiring delivery within 4 and 6 weeks of the visit, respectively, at a false positive rate of 5%. Interpretation: Screening by biophysical and biochemical testing at 30-33 weeks could identify most pregnancies developing PE and requiring delivery within the subsequent 4 weeks.
Modified Endoscope-Assisted Partial-Superficial Parotidectomy through a Retroauricular Incision
Authors: Chen Junming , Chen Weixiong , Zhang Jianli , He Fayao , Zhu Zhaofeng , Tang Sucheng , Wang Yuejian
Published: June 2014

Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of an endoscope-assisted partial parotidectomy through a modified retroauricular incision. Patients and Methods: Thirty patients with benign parotid superficial lobe tumors with a diameter of 2.4 ± 0.5 cm, located in the anterior portion of the inferior auricular lobule, underwent an endoscope-assisted partial-superficial parotidectomy. A retrograde approach through a small skin incision was used. An additional 30 patients who underwent conventional surgeries were used as controls. The operation time, operative bleeding volume and subjective satisfaction with the incision scar were compared between the groups. Results: All operations were successfully performed. The endoscopic surgery duration (74.8 ± 15.7 min), bleeding volume (12.7 ± 3.9 ml) and incision length (4.8 ± 0.4 cm) differed between the groups (p = 0.001). The mean patient satisfaction score was 8.6 ± 1.2 in the endoscope-assisted surgery group and 5.4 ± 1.3 in the control group (p = 0.001). There were no tumor recurrences during the 9-36 months of follow-up. Conclusion: Endoscope-assisted partial-superficial parotidectomy via a modified retroauricular incision is a feasible method for the treatment of benign parotid superficial lobe tumors located in the anterior portion of the inferior auricular lobule. The main advantage of this procedure was that the small operative scars improved the cosmetic results.
Clinical and Molecular Findings of Tunisian Patients with RASopathies
Authors: Louati Rim , Abdelmoula N. Bouayed , Trabelsi Imen , Abid Dorra , Lissewski Christina , Kharrat Najla , Kamoun Samir , Zenker Martin , Rebai Tarek
Published: June 2014

Noonan syndrome (NS) and related disorders, which are now summarized under the term RASopathies, are caused by germline mutations in genes encoding protein components of the Ras/mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway. In this study, we evaluated the clinical and molecular spectrum of 21 Tunisian patients, recruited by a cardiology unit, for whom RASopathy diagnosis was suspected by clinical geneticists. Overall, 19 patients had a clinical diagnosis of NS and 2 were classified as having Cardiofaciocutaneous (CFC) syndrome. In 52% (n = 11) of patients, a RASopathy has been molecularly confirmed. Mutations in PTPN11 and SOS1 genes were found in patients with diagnosis of NS and BRAF gene mutations in patients with CFC syndrome. As reported from other cohorts, mutations in exons 3 and 8 of the PTPN11 gene predominated in Tunisian NS patients. A very uncommon PTPN11 mutation c.5C>T (p.T2I), the functional consequences of which have so far remained unclear, was identified in one patient. As biased by the mode of recruitment, all patients included in this study had a congenital heart defect, with pulmonary valve stenosis being the most frequent one. Short stature and developmental abnormalities were present in mutation-positive cases. This is the first molecular study in patients from southern Tunisia with RASopathy diagnosis.
Familial Adenomatous Polyposis in Three Generations of a Single Family: A Case Study
Authors: Murgic Jure , Kirac Iva , Soldic Zeljko , Tomas Davor , Zovak Mario , Bolanca Ante , Plawski Andrzej , Banasiewicz Tomasz , Kusic Zvonko
Published: June 2014

Background: Familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP) is an autosomal dominantly inherited syndrome characterized by the development of numerous polyps in the colon and rectum. If left untreated, the affected patients inevitably develop colon cancer by the age of 40 years. A resection of the colon (colectomy) or of the colon and rectum (proctocolectomy) is needed to minimize the risk of cancer. Case Presentation: We report a case of FAP through three generations of a single family, in which the grandmother and granddaughter underwent total colectomy with ileoanal anastomosis and did not develop colon cancer, while the son underwent subtotal colectomy with ileorectal anastomosis and developed recurrent rectal cancer. Data regarding timely surgery, surveillance, and chemoprevention are discussed. Conclusion: The FAP phenotype determines the type of treatment. In severe polyposis, proctocolectomy with ileoanal anastomosis seems to be the optimal method for minimizing the risk of cancer development. This case report advocates complete rectal removal, especially in cases of poor patient compliance with colonoscopic surveillance.
Virulent Francisella tularensis Destabilize Host mRNA to Rapidly Suppress Inflammation
Authors: Bauler Timothy J. , Chase Jennifer C. , Wehrly Tara D. , Bosio Catharine M.
Published: June 2014

Highly virulent bacterial pathogens have evolved rapid means to suppress host inflammatory responses by unknown mechanisms. Here, we use virulent Francisella tularensis, the cause of lethal tularemia in humans, as a model to elucidate these mechanisms. We show that following infection of murine macrophages F. tularensis rapidly and selectively destabilizes mRNA containing adenylate-uridylate-rich elements that encode for cytokines and chemokines important in controlling bacterial infection. Degradation of host mRNA encoding interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6 and CXCL1 did not require viable bacteria or de novo protein synthesis, but did require escape of intracellular organisms from endocytic vesicles into the host cytosol. The specific targeting of host mRNA encoding inflammatory cytokines and chemokines for decay by a bacterial pathogen has not been previously reported. Thus, our findings represent a novel strategy by which a highly virulent pathogen modulates host inflammatory responses critical to the evasion of innate immunity.
25-Gauge Vitrectomy Combined with Half-Fluence Photodynamic Therapy for the Treatment of Juxtapapillary Retinal Capillary Hemangioma: A Case Report
Authors: Mariotti Cesare , Giovannini Alfonso , Reibaldi Michele , Nicolai Michele , Saitta Andrea
Published: June 2014

A rare case of juxtapapillary retinal capillary hemangioma (JRCH) with tractional macular detachment that was managed successfully with minimally invasive 25-gauge vitreoretinal surgery, followed by two sessions of half-fluence photodynamic treatment (PDT) with good visual outcome, is presented. A 13-year-old female patient had progressive deterioration of the vision of her right eye due to the presence of tractional macular detachment associated with JRCH in von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) disease. A 25-gauge sutureless vitreoretinal surgery was successfully performed. Two months following surgery, the JRCH was treated with two sessions of half-fluence PDT at an interval of 4 months. Visual acuity improved from a preoperative level of 20/50 to 20/25 24 months postoperatively. Resolution of the tractional macular detachment, reduction of papillomacular area fluid, and reduction in size of the JRCH were observed during the follow-up period. No serious adverse events were observed. Small-gauge vitreoretinal surgery followed by PDT can be effective and safe in relieving tractional macular detachment and recovering useful visual acuity in JRCH in VHL disease.
Neuronal Intranuclear Inclusion Disease Presenting with Resting Tremor
Authors: Kitagawa Naoyuki , Sone Jun , Sobue Gen , Kuroda Masahiko , Sakurai Michio
Published: June 2014

Neuronal intranuclear inclusion disease (NIID) is a rare neurodegenerative disease with various neurological symptoms. A 73-year-old woman presented with slowly progressive tremor in both hands. The resting tremor was enhanced by cognitive activity and walking. However, there were no other signs of parkinsonism. Levodopa and trihexyphenidyl were ineffective against the tremor. A diagnosis of NIID was made based on skin biopsy findings. The tremor in this case was very similar to that seen in Parkinson's disease (PD). Previous reports and the present case indicate that NIID patients can develop tremor that is similar in character to that seen in PD. NIID should be considered in the differential diagnosis of resting tremor similar to PD.
Methods and Prospects for Human–Computer Performance of Popular Music
Authors: Dannenberg Roger B. , Gold Nicolas E. , Liang Dawen , Xia Guangyu
Published: June 2014

Computers are often used in performance of popular music, but most often in very restricted ways, such as keyboard synthesizers where musicians are in complete control, or pre-recorded or sequenced music where musicians follow the computer's drums or click track. An interesting and yet little-explored possibility is the computer as highly autonomous performer of popular music, capable of joining a mixed ensemble of computers and humans. Considering the skills and functional requirements of musicians leads to a number of predictions about future human–computer music performance (HCMP) systems for popular music. We describe a general architecture for such systems and describe some early implementations and our experience with them.
Generative Tools for Interactive Composition: Real-Time Musical Structures Based on Schaeffer's TARTYP and on Klumpenhouwer Networks
Authors: Neuman Israel
Published: June 2014

Interactive computer music is comparable to improvisation because it includes elements of real-time composition performed by the computer. This process of real-time composition often incorporates stochastic techniques that remap a predetermined fundamental structure to a surface of sound processing. The hierarchical structure is used to pose restrictions on the stochastic processes, but, in most cases, the hierarchical structure in itself is not created in real time. This article describes how existing musical analysis methods can be converted into generative compositional tools that allow composers to generate musical structures in real time. It proposes a compositional method based on generative grammars derived from Pierre Schaeffer's TARTYP, and describes the development of a compositional tool for real-time generation of Klumpenhouwer networks. The approach is based on the intersection of musical ideas with fundamental concepts in computer science including generative grammars, predicate logic, concepts of structural representation, and various methods of categorization.
Wave Measurement Intercomparison and Platform Evaluation during the ITOP (2010) Experiment
Authors: Collins Clarence O. , Lund Björn , Ramos Rafael J. , Drennan William M. , Graber Hans C.
Published: June 2014

Spectral wave parameters from 11 platforms, measured during the recent Impact of Typhoons on the Ocean in the Pacific (ITOP) experiment, are intercompared. Two moorings, separated by ~180 km, were deployed in a section of “typhoon alley” off the coast of Taiwan for 4 months. Each mooring consisted of an Air–Sea Interaction Spar (ASIS) buoy that was tethered to a moored Extreme Air–Sea Interaction (EASI) buoy. EASI, the design of which is based on the hull of a 6-m Navy Oceanographic Meteorological Automatic Device (NOMAD) buoy, is validated as a 1D wave sensor against the established ASIS. Also, during this time three drifting miniature wave buoys, a wave-measuring marine radar on the Research Vessel Roger Revelle, and several overpasses of Jason-1 (C and Ku bands) and Jason-2 (Ku band) satellite altimeters were within 100 km of either the northern or southern mooring site. These additional measurements were compared against both EASI buoys. Findings are in-line with previous wave parameter intercomparisons. A corroborated measurement of mean wave direction and direction at the peak of the spectrum from the EASI buoy is presented. Consequently, this study is the first published account of directional wave information that has been successfully gathered from a buoy with a 6-m NOMAD-type hull. This result may be applied to improve operational coverage of wave direction. A high level of confidence is established in the ITOP wave data. Advantages and disadvantages of the different sensor types are discussed, which may be useful for the design of future field experiments.
Ocean Data Impacts in Global HYCOM*
Authors: Cummings James A. , Smedstad Ole Martin
Published: June 2014

The impact of the assimilation of ocean observations on reducing global Hybrid Coordinate Ocean Model (HYCOM) 48-h forecast errors is presented. The assessment uses an adjoint-based data impact procedure that characterizes the forecast impact of every observation assimilated, and it allows the observation impacts to be partitioned by data type, geographic region, and vertical level. The impact cost function is the difference between HYCOM 48- and 72-h forecast errors computed for temperature and salinity at all model levels and grid points. It is shown that routine assimilation of large numbers of observations consistently reduces global HYCOM 48-h forecast errors for both temperature and salinity. The largest error reduction is due to the assimilation of temperature and salinity profiles from the tropical fixed mooring arrays, followed by Argo, expendable bathythermograph (XBT), and animal sensor data. On a per-observation basis, the most important global observing system is Argo. The beneficial impact of assimilating Argo temperature and salinity profiles extends to all depths sampled, with salinity impacts maximum at the surface and temperature impacts showing a subsurface maximum in the 100–200-m-depth range. The reduced impact of near-surface Argo temperature profile levels is due to the vertical covariances in the assimilation that extend the influence of the large number of sea surface temperature (SST) observations to the base of the mixed layer. Application of the adjoint-based data impact system to identify a data quality problem in a geostationary satellite SST observing system is also provided.
Observations of the Eyewall Structure of Typhoon Sinlaku (2008) during the Transformation Stage of Extratropical Transition
Authors: Foerster Annette M. , Bell Michael M. , Harr Patrick A. , Jones Sarah C.
Published: June 2014

A unique dataset observing the life cycle of Typhoon Sinlaku was collected during The Observing System Research and Predictability Experiment (THORPEX) Pacific Asian Regional Campaign (T-PARC) in 2008. In this study observations of the transformation stage of the extratropical transition of Sinlaku are analyzed. Research flights with the Naval Research Laboratory P-3 and the U.S. Air Force WC-130 aircraft were conducted in the core region of Sinlaku. Data from the Electra Doppler Radar (ELDORA), dropsondes, aircraft flight level, and satellite atmospheric motion vectors were analyzed with the recently developed Spline Analysis at Mesoscale Utilizing Radar and Aircraft Instrumentation (SAMURAI) software with a 1-km horizontal- and 0.5-km vertical-node spacing. The SAMURAI analysis shows marked asymmetries in the structure of the core region in the radar reflectivity and three-dimensional wind field. The highest radar reflectivities were found in the left of shear semicircle, and maximum ascent was found in the downshear left quadrant. Initial radar echos were found slightly upstream of the downshear direction and downdrafts were primarily located in the upshear semicircle, suggesting that individual cells in Sinlaku’s eyewall formed in the downshear region, matured as they traveled downstream, and decayed in the upshear region. The observed structure is consistent with previous studies of tropical cyclones in vertical wind shear, suggesting that the eyewall convection is primarily shaped by increased vertical wind shear during step 2 of the transformation stage, as was hypothesized by Klein et al. A transition from active convection upwind to stratiform precipitation downwind is similar to that found in the principal rainband of more intense tropical cyclones.
Public Sector Unions Under Siege
Authors: Hurd Richard W. , Lee Tamara L.
Published: June 2014

The 2011-2013 assault on public sector collective bargaining rights is unprecedented in its breadth and depth. Legislative proposals that would roll back bargaining, limit unions’ ability to negotiate security arrangements, stop payroll deduction of union dues, and constrain labor’s political activity have been introduced in a majority of states. This coordinated attack from the Republican right has spurred an aggressive, unified response from a broad cross section of unions. Through labor unity tables at the national and state levels, unions are demonstrating a rare level of solidarity in the fight back. This ongoing experiment in movement building is encouraging, but challenges remain.
Dispossession is Nine-tenths of the Law
Authors: Varga Joseph
Published: June 2014

Anti-union right-to-work (RTW) laws are key tools in the reproduction of insecure or precarious workers. This article uses a comparison of the passage of RTW laws in Indiana in 1957 and 2012 to examine the process that sociologist Guy Standing and others have termed precariatization, the formation of a new type of insecure labor force. Through a comparison of the passage of the laws and the resistance of organized labor in both cases, the article charts the processes by which American workers in general, and Indiana workers in particular, have been dispossessed of rights in the workplace. This process of dispossession, along with the climate of neoliberal austerity, contributed to the inability of organized labor in Indiana to stop the implementation of an RTW law in 2012. By placing each set of events in the wider historical and national context, this article provides a framework for understanding the short- and long-term effects of dispossession in this key industrial state.
Poverty–Growth–Inequality Triangle by Principal Component Analysis
Authors: Khan Muhammad Azhar , Khan Muhammad Zahir , Zaman Khalid , Khan Ayisha
Published: June 2014

The objective of the study is to investigate the associations among rural poverty, agriculture growth and income inequality in Pakistan as problems that have emerged in Pakistan during 1990s and 2000s (i.e., the reduction of agricultural share in GDP, widening income disparities and increasing vulnerability) by adjusting for the influences of rural development, sanitation and education. The regression result indicates that rural development and national income per capita has a negative association with poverty and income inequality, and a positive association with agriculture growth in Pakistan. Similarly, FDI has a positive impact on rural development, income inequality and poverty. External debt has positive associations with the poverty and income inequality in rural Pakistan. Finally, health expenditures have a positive relationship with the poverty and inequality which indicates that Pakistan’s health reforms are intrinsically anti-poor.
Changing Risk for Landless Populations: How Structural Transformation Influences Communist Success in Rural India
Authors: Gandhi Triveni
Published: June 2014

What explains the pattern of communist vote across rural India? One explanation is that landless populations will vote for left parties because they are more willing to engage with risky groups. But does land reform change the risk structure for rural voters and how does this change affect the viability of left parties? This article uses Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) regression to understand what percentage of communist vote can be explained by landlessness in three of India’s Lok Sabha elections. Analysis finds that landlessness is still a significant explanation of communist vote across India but not when controlling for left strongholds in West Bengal and Kerala, meaning that structural variables are moderated by the duration of communist regime. This finding lends evidence to the idea that long term communist regimes can successfully redistribute wealth in a society to reduce structural differences among peasants. Changes in land tenure increase economic risk for peasant voters, and as recent elections have shown, decrease the viability of communist parties. To further this point, I supplement my results by case study analysis of West Bengal and Kerala, thus explicating the mechanisms leading to the more recent upheaval of communist support.
Return of the ‘National’ in Indian Elections: When do National-level Factors Play a Role in Influencing the Outcomes of State Assembly Elections?
Authors: Verma Rahul , Mishra Jyoti , Sardesai Shreyas , Kumar Sanjay
Published: June 2014

The outcome of the assembly elections held in November 2013 in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Delhi could possibly be summarized in one sentence: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) retained Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, and the incumbent Indian National Congress (INC) lost power in Rajasthan and Delhi. It was a 4–0 defeat for the Congress. What explains the Congress’ rout in these four states? Moreover, why did the BJP do well? And how did a new political outfit—Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)—manage a stunning debut in Delhi within a year of its formation? Using data from the pre-poll and post-poll surveys from the above mentioned states, we find that there was a visible dissatisfaction with the Congress-led UPA government at the centre and that led to the party’s debacle during the elections. We suggest that the interaction of two variables—temporal proximity of state assembly elections to Lok Sabha elections and nature of party competition in the state— determines when national-level factors would play important role in influencing electoral outcomes in state elections.
A discussion on generalized almost contractions via rational expressions in partially ordered metric spaces
Authors: Mustafa Zead , Karapınar Erdal , Aydi Hassen
Published: June 2014

The main purpose of this paper is to give some fixed point results for mappings involving generalized

(
ϕ
,
ψ
)

-contractions in partially ordered metric spaces. Our results generalize, extend, and unify several well-known comparable results in the literature (Jaggi in Indian J. Pure Appl. Math. 8(2):223-230, 1977, Harjani et al. in Nonlinear Anal. 71:3403-3410, 2009, Luong and Thuan in Fixed Point Theory Appl. 2011:46, 2011). The presented results are supported by three illustrative examples.

MSC: 46N40, 47H10, 54H25, 46T99.
Is a single item stress measure independently associated with subsequent severe injury: a prospective cohort study of 16,385 forest industry employees
Authors: Salminen Simo , Kouvonen Anne , Koskinen Aki , Joensuu Matti , Väänänen Ari
Published: June 2014

Background

A previous review showed that high stress increases the risk of occupational injury by three- to five-fold. However, most of the prior studies have relied on short follow-ups. In this prospective cohort study we examined the effect of stress on recorded hospitalised injuries in an 8-year follow-up.

Methods

A total of 16,385 employees of a Finnish forest company responded to the questionnaire. Perceived stress was measured with a validated single-item measure, and analysed in relation recorded hospitalised injuries from 1986 to 2008. We used Cox proportional hazard regression models to examine the prospective associations between work stress, injuries and confounding factors.

Results

Highly stressed participants were approximately 40% more likely to be hospitalised due to injury over the follow-up period than participants with low stress. This association remained significant after adjustment for age, gender, marital status, occupational status, educational level, and physical work environment.

Conclusions

High stress is associated with an increased risk of severe injury.
Elevated serum CA19-9 level is a promising predictor for poor prognosis in patients with resectable pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma: a pilot study
Authors: Dong Qian , Yang Xiang-hong , Zhang Yao , Jing Wei , Zheng Li-qiang , Liu Yun-peng , Qu Xiu-juan
Published: June 2014

Background

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is one of the most aggressive human cancers. Several studies have reported that the carbohydrate antigen 19-9 (CA19-9) level is a useful marker for predicting the prognosis for PDAC after resection. However, the cutoff value of CA19-9 used to predict prognosis varied among these reports. The aims of this study were to evaluate whether the serum CA19-9 level is a significant predictor for survival and to determine the optimal cutoff value of CA19-9 for predicting prognosis.

Methods

A total of 120 consecutive patients who underwent surgery for potentially resectable primary PDAC were retrospectively analyzed. The variables included the following: age, sex, the location of the tumor, the maximal tumor size, the histological differentiation, the margin status, the tumor stage, serum CA19-9 levels, and serum total bilirubin (TBil) levels.

Results

The overall 1-year survival rate was 62.5%. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve indicated a significant result for the level of CA19-9 in predicting death within 1 year after surgery (Area under the curve (AUC), 0.612; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.505-0.720; P = 0.040). The optimal cutoff point was 338.45 U/mL (sensitivity, 60.0%; specificity, 66.7%; accuracy, 64.2%). The strongest univariate predictor among the categorized CA19-9 values was CA19-9 greater than or equal to 338.45 U/mL. In the multivariate Cox proportional hazards mode analysis, the serum CA19-9 level, age and the histological differentiation were significant independent prognostic factors that were associated with the overall survival.

Conclusions

The preoperative elevated CA19-9 level is a promising independent factor for predicting a poor prognosis in PDAC, and the optimal cutoff value is 338.45 U/mL.
Crystal structure reveals conservation of amyloid-β conformation recognized by 3D6 following humanization to bapineuzumab
Authors: Feinberg Hadar , Saldanha José W , Diep Linnea , Goel Amita , Widom Angela , Veldman Geertruida M , Weis William I , Schenk Dale , Basi Guriqbal S
Published: June 2014

Introduction

Immunotherapy targeting amyloid-β peptide is under active clinical investigation for treatment of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Among the hypotheses being investigated for impact on clinical outcome are the preferred epitope or conformation of amyloid-β to target for treatment, and the mechanism of action underlying immunotherapy. Bapineuzumab (humanized 3D6), a neo-epitope specific antibody recognizing amyloid-β1-5 with strong preference for an exposed Asp residue at the N-terminus of the peptide, has undergone advanced clinical testing for treatment of AD.

Methods

To gain further insight into the epitope conformation, we interrogated structural details of amino-terminal epitopes in amyloid-β using x-ray crystallography of 3D6Fab:amyloid-β complexes. Humanization of 3D6 was carried out using standard procedures integrating recombinant methods, sequence informatics, and homology modeling predictions to identify important mouse framework residues for retention in the finished humanized product.

Results

Here we report the crystal structure of a recombinant Fab fragment of 3D6 in complex with amyloid-β1-7 solved at 2.0 Å resolution. The N-terminus of amyloid-β is bound to 3D6 as a 310 helix. The amino-terminal Asp residue is buried deepest in the antibody binding pocket, with the Cβ atom of residue 6 visible at the entrance to the binding pocket near the surface of the antibody. We further evaluate homology model based predictions used to guide humanization of 3D6 to bapineuzumab, with actual structure of the Fab. The structure of the Fab:amyloid-β complex validates design of the humanized antibody, and confirms the amyloid-β epitope recognized by 3D6 as previously mapped by ELISA.

Conclusions

The conformation of amyloid-β antigen recognized by 3D6 is novel and distinct from other antibodies recognizing N-terminal epitopes. Our result provides the first report demonstrating structural conservation of antigen contact residues, and conformation of antigen recognized, between the parent murine antibody and its humanized version.
The role of CXCL10 in the pathogenesis of experimental septic shock
Authors: Herzig Daniela S , Luan Liming , Bohannon Julia K , Toliver-Kinsky Tracy E , Guo Yin , Sherwood Edward R
Published: June 2014

Introduction

The chemokine CXCL10 is produced during infection and inflammation to activate the chemokine receptor CXCR3, an important regulator of lymphocyte trafficking and activation. The goal of this study was to assess the contributions of CXCL10 to the pathogenesis of experimental septic shock in mice.

Methods

Septic shock was induced by cecal ligation and puncture (CLP) in mice resuscitated with lactated Ringer’s solution and, in some cases, the broad spectrum antibiotic Primaxin. Studies were performed in CXCL10 knockout mice and mice treated with anti-CXCL10 immunoglobulin G (IgG). Endpoints included leukocyte trafficking and activation, core body temperature, plasma cytokine concentrations, bacterial clearance and survival.

Results

CXCL10 was present at high concentrations in plasma and peritoneal cavity during CLP-induced septic shock. Survival was significantly improved in CXCL10 knockout (CXCL10KO) mice and mice treated with anti-CXCL10 IgG compared to controls. CXCL10KO mice and mice treated with anti-CXCL10 IgG showed attenuated hypothermia, lower concentrations of interleukin-6 (IL-6) and macrophage inhibitory protein-2 (MIP-2) in plasma and lessened natural killer (NK) cell activation compared to control mice. Compared to control mice, bacterial burden in blood and lungs was lower in CXCL10-deficient mice but not in mice treated with anti-CXCL10 IgG. Treatment of mice with anti-CXCL10 IgG plus fluids and Primaxin at 2 or 6 hours after CLP significantly improved survival compared to mice treated with non-specific IgG under the same conditions.

Conclusions

CXCL10 plays a role in the pathogenesis of CLP-induced septic shock and could serve as a therapeutic target during the acute phase of septic shock.
A Teaching Strategy with a Focus on Argumentation to Improve Undergraduate Students’ Ability to Read Research Articles
Authors: Lacum Edwin B. Van , Ossevoort Miriam A. , Goedhart Martin J.
Published: June 2014

The aim of this study is to evaluate a teaching strategy designed to teach first-year undergraduate life sciences students at a research university how to learn to read authentic research articles. Our approach—based on the work done in the field of genre analysis and argumentation theory—means that we teach students to read research articles by teaching them which rhetorical moves occur in research articles and how they can identify these. Because research articles are persuasive by their very nature, we focused on the rhetorical moves that play an important role in authors’ arguments. We designed a teaching strategy using cognitive apprenticeship as the pedagogical approach. It was implemented in a first-year compulsory course in the life sciences undergraduate program. Comparison of the results of a pretest with those of the posttest showed that students’ ability to identify these moves had improved. Moreover, students themselves had also perceived that their ability to read and understand a research article had increased. The students’ evaluations demonstrated that they appreciated the pedagogical approach used and experienced the assignments as useful. On the basis of our results, we concluded that students had taken a first step toward becoming expert readers.
Student Perceived and Determined Knowledge of Biology Concepts in an Upper-Level Biology Course
Authors: Ziegler Brittany , Montplaisir Lisa
Published: June 2014

Students who lack metacognitive skills can struggle with the learning process. To be effective learners, students should recognize what they know and what they do not know. This study examines the relationship between students’ perception of their knowledge and determined knowledge in an upper-level biology course utilizing a pre/posttest approach. Significant differences in students’ perception of their knowledge and their determined knowledge exist at the beginning (pretest) and end (posttest) of the course. Alignment between student perception and determined knowledge was significantly more accurate on the posttest compared with the pretest. Students whose determined knowledge was in the upper quartile had significantly better alignment between their perception and determined knowledge on the pre- and posttest than students in the lower quartile. No difference exists between how students perceived their knowledge between upper- and lower-quartile students. There was a significant difference in alignment of perception and determined knowledge between males and females on the posttest, with females being more accurate in their perception of knowledge. This study provides evidence of discrepancies that exist between what students perceive they know and what they actually know.
The CREATE Strategy for Intensive Analysis of Primary Literature Can Be Used Effectively by Newly Trained Faculty to Produce Multiple Gains in Diverse Students
Authors: Stevens Leslie M. , Hoskins Sally G.
Published: June 2014

The CREATE (Consider Read, Elucidate the hypotheses, Analyze and interpret the data, and Think of the next Experiment) strategy aims to demystify scientific research and scientists while building critical thinking, reading/analytical skills, and improved science attitudes through intensive analysis of primary literature. CREATE was developed and piloted at the City College of New York (CCNY), a 4-yr, minority-serving institution, with both upper-level biology majors and first-year students interested in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. To test the extent to which CREATE strategies are broadly applicable to students at private, public, research-intensive, and/or primarily undergraduate colleges/universities, we trained a cohort of faculty from the New York/New Jersey/Pennsylvania area in CREATE pedagogies, then followed a subset, the CREATE implementers (CIs), as they taught all or part of an existing course on their home campuses using CREATE approaches. Evaluation of the workshops, the CIs, and their students was carried out both by the principal investigators and by an outside evaluator working independently. Our data indicate that: intensive workshops change aspects of faculty attitudes about teaching/learning; workshop-trained faculty can effectively design and teach CREATE courses; and students taught by such faculty on multiple campuses make significant cognitive and affective gains that parallel the changes documented previously at CCNY.
Towards a more nuanced global mental health
Authors: White Ross G. , Sashidharan S. P.
Published: June 2014

The World Health Organization has made concerted efforts to scale up mental health services in low- and middle-income countries through the Mental Health Gap Action Programme (mhGAP) initiative. However, an overreliance on scaling up services based on those used in high-income countries may risk causing more harm than good.
Reported child awareness of parental depression
Authors: Eyre Olga , Jones Rhys Bevan , Mars Becky , Hammerton Gemma , Sellers Ruth , Potter Robert , Thapar Ajay , Rice Frances , Collishaw Stephan , Thapar Anita
Published: June 2014

Aims and method

To determine rates of parent-reported child awareness of parental depression, examine characteristics of parents, children and families according to child awareness, and explore whether child awareness is associated with child psychopathology. Data were available from 271 families participating in the Early Prediction of Adolescent Depression (EPAD) study, a longitudinal study of offspring of parents with recurrent depression.

Results

Seventy-three per cent of participating children were perceived as being aware of their parent's depression. Older children, and children of parents who experienced more severe depression, were more likely to be aware. Awareness was not associated with child psychopathology.

Clinical implications

Considering children in the context of parental depression is important. Child awareness may influence their access to early intervention and prevention programmes. Further research is needed to understand the impact of awareness on the child.
Hermits, Stoics, and Hysterics: Turkish Democracy and the Female Bildungsroman
Authors: Gürle Meltem
Published: June 2014

Be it the top-down secularism of the Kemalist reforms or the authoritarian conservatism of the present Islamist government, the political will in Turkey has persistently ignored the individual, the most valuable component of democratic modernity. The Turkish bildungsroman voices the confusion that spreads from this contradiction. Being doomed to a state of eternal puberty, the novelistic hero cannot go out into the world and take his place in the history of civilization/culture (Bildung). This is especially true for the female Bildungsheld, who finds it even harder to find a spot in the public sphere, which in the Turkish case has come to imply a realm that belongs to the state or its institutions (kamu), a strictly masculine space. Not being able to manifest herself within social structures, she fails to take part in the network of actual give-and-take that defines all exchanges in the symbolical realm. Focusing on the femininity of the “eternally ill” “Beautiful Soul” (in Goethe's Wilhelm Meister) and the social masculinism of the bildungsroman, this essay refers to the elaboration of the same theme by Hegel and Lacan and traces variations of this neurotic character in the Turkish novel.
José María Arguedas and Ricardo Piglia: Two Radical Views on Political Subjection in Latin America
Authors: Legrás Horacio
Published: June 2014

Following the lead of Jacques Rancière, I argue in this essay that democracy andthe institution of literature share structural features that are inescapably historical in nature. The essay maps the interaction between literature and democracy in the case of two prominent contemporary Latin American authors: Peruvian José María Arguedas and Argentine Ricardo Piglia. In the same way that there is a notion of the literary peculiar to Latin America, there is a particular set of challenges that provide a unique shape to the Latin American democratic project. In the case of Piglia, the kernel of the engagement of literature with the political lies in the exhaustion of the nation as a site of the constitution of a popular will. In the case of Arguedas, whose work is deeply marked by the long colonial experience of the Andean people, repeated frustrations with modern notions of emancipation take him to propose a biological substratum as the irreducible site of a political affirmation. Thus Arguedas provides a thoroughly developed notion of positive biopolitics that has the potential to ground other engagements of colonial voices with the larger sphere of political domination.
Reassembling the Novel: Kinlessness and the Novel of the Haitian Revolution
Authors: Dillon Elizabeth Maddock
Published: June 2014

This article turns to the space of the colony in the eighteenth-century Atlantic world to offer an alternative theory of the novel—one that defines colonial geographies as constitutive of the novel as a genre rather than as marginal and inessential. In looking to such colonial locations as they appear in the novel, I advance a claim concerning aesthetics and politics: namely, in the eighteenth century it is the demos—the collectivity and the geography of that collectivity, the defining of a people—that requires constituting by way of the genre of the novel as much as it is the novelistic subject. Turned in such a light, the genre of the novel can be seen as one that marshals aesthetic resources toward generating horizontal collectivities (democratic structures, for instance) that are distinct from, and in tension with, vertically oriented genealogical kinship structures. I argue that the aesthetics at play in the novel as a genre are instrumental in creating and defining the demos and its limits; moreover, it is precisely at the site of the limit (figured within, say, the liminal space of the colony) that the more radical possibilities of democracy come into focus. The novel set in the extranational space of the colony—including a number of novels concerning the Haitian Revolution that I examine here and, most prominently, the US redaction of Victor Hugo's Bug-Jargal, titled The Slave-King— opens the possibility of modes of postgenealogical assemblage that far exceed that of liberal nationalism.
The Influence of Steam Condensate Gasothermal Baths in the Yangan-Tau Resort on Microorganisms
Authors: Хурамшин  , Khuramshin I.
Published: June 2014

To determine the processes occurring in the depths of the Yangan-tau mountain parts of gasothermal baths of the resort have been studied and a number of different organic and mineral substances dissolved in the condensate steam of gasothermal mixture was found. This circumstance requires new experimental research using the condensation of steam. One of the first researches was to study the influence of steam condensate on clinical strains of microbes. The study showed that the condensate vapour has an active anti-microbial action in the first hours after the receipt of the wells of the resort. An important role belongs to the concentration of condensate steam when only 100% concentration has bacteriostatic and bactericidal effect. For experiments on germs condensate steam obtained from the well «5» was used, which has the least amount of organic substances and other bio-components in one liter steam condensate compared with condensation couple of other wells. Over time the activity of bacteriostatic effect of the condensate steam quickly drops due to the evaporation of some organic substances from the group of phenols and iodine organic substances. Despite the large number of different other bio-components of bacteriostatic action they cann’t have this action due to the low concentration of zinc. Insignificant quantity of radon also doesn’t have a substantial bacteriostatic action. This research showed that condensate steam has an evident antimicrobial energy and is estimated as a good result in medical procedure and in a hygiene area.
Medico-Social Factors, Epidemiological and Clinico-Morphological Features of Co-Infection of HIV/TB on Example of the Volgograd Region
Authors: Морозова  , Morozova N. , Козырев  , Kozyrev O. , Смирнов  , Smirnov A. , Быхалов  , Bykhalov L. , Джура  , Dzhura P.
Published: June 2014

The purpose of this paper is to review the epidemiological, socio-medical, clinical and morphological aspects of the two infections of HIV and tuberculosis to clarify the characteristics of patients and to identify pathologic features of granulomatous inflammation in co-infection with HIV / TB at the level of light microscopy. The material of the research was medical records of patients, who died and persons consisting on the dispensary with HIV infection, tuberculosis and co-infection with HIV / tuberculosis. Morphological part of the research was carried out with the study of autopsy material of death patients with HIV infection and tuberculosis in the Volgograd region. The increase in the number of HIV-infected and high rates of TB in the Volgograd region affect on the epidemic process in co-infecciosa due vulnerable groups and socio against non-adaptable layers of population, which in most cases neglected complete therapy, ARVs and anti-TB therapy and are drug users, on the background of which there is a progression of human immunodeficiency virus and tuberculosis. Morphological research of deceased persons from the co-infection HIV/TB can detect the violation of structure of classical tuberculosis granuloma. In tubercular granuloma except tricks caseous necrosis, surrounded by few epitelialna cells, isolated multinucleated giant cells Pirogov-Langhans,a small number of small lymphocytes were identified, and the appearance on the periphery of neutrophilic leukocytes and severe exudative reaction was revealed.
Methodological Peculiarities of Marketing Researches related to High-Tech Production Market (Evidence from the Market of Mobile Devices)
Authors: Логвинов  , Logvinov Syergyey
Published: June 2014

Peculiarities of high-tech production’s system marketing research based on

mathematical models, ones’ parameters have been determined using

multidimensional statistical analysis methods are considered. The cluster and

discriminant analysis have been taken as a basis. Selection of goods by

consumers depending on firm-manufacturer, set of goods’ technical

characteristics, as well as of consumers’ social, personal and psychological

characteristics are studied and modeled. A group of University’s students and

graduates is investigated as a segment of consumer market.