bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Therapeutic Values Clarification and Values Development for End-of-Life Patients
Authors: Edwards Andrew Wallace
Published: May 2013

The social, emotional, cognitive, and spiritual challenges that may be a major concern for a certain category of end-of-life patients are the focus of a conceptual counseling model. The intervention that was developed as a result of several years of practice is referred to as therapeutic values clarification and values development. This article outlines 4 phases of this intervention. This therapeutic process is illustrated by a case vignette with explanation of the key concepts. This model is suggested for use with end-of-life patients that are self-aware, emotionally and cognitively competent, and have adequate verbal skills. It may be useful as an optional tool for hospice workers, social workers, and clergy who render services to terminally ill patients and their families.
Factors Affecting the Place of Death Among Hospice Home Care Cancer Patients in Taiwan
Authors: Lee Lung-Chun , Hu Chung-Chieh , Loh El-Wui , Hwang Sheau-Feng
Published: May 2013

Background:

Some patients who receive hospice home care still end up dying in hospital. The significance of the variables possibly affecting the place of death in patients with terminal cancer who received hospice home care was examined.

Methods:

Retrospective study.

Results:

Four hundred and thirty-nine patients were enrolled in this study. In all, 60.8% of the patients died at home and 39.2% of the patients died in hospital. Multiple logistic regression analysis revealed that preferred place of death was the prior factor associated with home death, followed by average days of rehospitalization, education level, distance between home and hospital, and age.

Conclusions:

For a better hospice care service, it is essential to inquire patients or their relatives on preferred place of death while concerning the influences of other factors.
Student Self-Assessment and Multisource Feedback Assessment
Authors: Taylor Scott N.
Published: May 2013

It has become common practice for management students to participate in some sort of self-assessment or multisource feedback assessment (MSF; also called 360-degree assessment or multirater assessment) during their management degree program. These assessments provide students invaluable feedback about themselves and assist students in their personal and professional development. This article draws on a conceptualization of the self as multifaceted to examine the benefits and limitations of self-assessment and MSF. Specifically, although an aid to students’ learning, self-assessment tools predominantly treat the self as an individual self, thereby ignoring the relational and collective aspects of the self. Moreover, self-assessments that people make tend to be inflated, unreliable, and biased. MSF improves on self-assessment by including others’ assessment of the self; however, it also possesses three limitations in its current treatment: MSF (a) conceptualizes the self as an individual self, (b) ignores the importance of context, and (c) relies primarily on a self-other rating agreement. These limitations are explored, and remedies are offered to better account for the multifaceted nature of the self.
The Relationship Between Postpartum Depression, Domestic Violence, Childhood Violence, and Substance Use
Authors: Dennis Cindy-Lee , Vigod Simone
Published: May 2013

The objective of this study was to determine the contribution of interpersonal violence and substance use to the prediction of postpartum depressive symptomatology. A community-based sample of 634 women in British Columbia, Canada was screened for interpersonal violence and substance use using the Antenatal Psychosocial Health Assessment (ALPHA) form. Of these women, 497 (78%) subsequently completed questionnaires at 8 weeks postpartum to assess for depressive symptomatology using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS). A predictive model for postpartum depressive symptomatology (EPDS > 9) was developed using regression analysis. Findings suggest that women who experience past or current interpersonal violence or personal or partner substance use problems should be considered for targeted screening for postpartum depression (PPD).
Neurocognitive considerations in the treatment of attachment and complex trauma in children
Authors: Zilberstein Karen
Published: May 2013

Accumulating evidence suggests that children suffering deprivation and maltreatment at critical times in their development often pay a cognitive toll. While children vary to the extent that neurocognitive domains are affected, those factors influence how children process, manage and understand traumatic and attachment experiences as well as how they respond to treatment. Current research on trauma and attachment favor some aspects of cognition over others. The literature discusses attention, memory, cognitive biases, internal working models, beliefs and attributions as ways that impact an individual’s understanding of experience. Other categories such as working memory, processing speed, verbal, auditory or perceptual processing, metacognitive skills, and cognitive rigidity or flexibility rarely surface. This paper examines what is and is not known about the interface of cognition with attachment and complex trauma and how that knowledge can inform treatment. It explores existing research and offers a case vignette as an example of how that knowledge can be integrated into treatment strategies.
Coming out of the credenza1: An Italian celebrity unveils his ‘new’ gay self
Authors: Benozzo Angelo
Published: May 2013

In this article I offer a discourse analysis of Tiziano Ferro coming out in a regulatory Italian context. The critical texts for analysis come from the first page of the entertainment section of two Italian newspapers, Corriere della Sera and La Repubblica, where Ferro, an Italian pop star, came out of the closet in as public a way as possible. The pages contain a letter from the singer, other articles (editorial and comments), an interview and images. I present a discourse analysis of these newspaper pages, highlighting how the construction of this narration of coming out, with its ideology-laden and rhetorical discourse, combined visual aspects and written texts. In this way I deconstruct the narrative of coming out; I discuss the intertwining of the regulatory discourses so that homosexuality is made acceptable in the Italian social landscape, and the consequences of this coming out.
‘Proper sex without annoying things’: Anti-condom discourse and the ‘nature’ of (hetero)sex
Authors: Braun Virginia
Published: May 2013

Condoms can be highly successful in preventing transmission of many common sexually transmitted infections, and are integral to many safer-sex campaigns. However, this relatively simple strategy is not effectively utilised, and research demonstrates intense, diverse, but patterned dislikes of condoms. In this article, I provide a discursive analysis of data collected in 15 focus groups on (hetero)sexual health, where condoms were overwhelming discussed in very familiar negative terms. My analysis focuses on a recurrent metaphor – the condom-as-killer – and considers the way the ‘nature’ of condoms but also of heterosex itself is constructed through this metaphor. The metaphor invokes a ‘battle’ between condoms and sex/sexual pleasure, situating condoms and sex as separate, and oppositional. The metaphor effectively constructs condom-wearing-heterosex as not really proper sex at all, providing a powerful conceptual resource for undermining condom use messages.
Sexuality and the ethics of body modification: Theorizing the situated relationships among gender, sexuality and the body
Authors: Whitehead Jaye Cee , Thomas Jennifer
Published: May 2013

Drawing from our qualitative, in-depth interviews of 35 professionals who write referral letters for “gender transition,” we explore how practitioners’ decisions to approve, delay or refuse access to body modifications speak to the centrality of normative concepts of sexuality and the social function of bodies in the cultural politics of gender identity. We argue that practitioners construct what we call an ethic of body modification that tends toward reducing the body to its symbolic function—as a representation of the subject’s true gender and a basis for sexual identity. We also discuss the views of a minority of practitioners who resist this tendency by creating an alternative path for body modification independent from identity claims. We conclude by discussing the cultural/political implications of pseudo-scientific discourses that assume gender identity is natural, stable and universal, whereas bodies are flexible and malleable social representations.
Just feeling a naked body close to you: Men, sexuality and intimacy in later life
Authors: Sandberg Linn
Published: May 2013

Despite an increasing emphasis on sexuality as lifelong and part of healthy ageing, the voices of older men and women are seldom heard. Based on qualitative interviews with Swedish heterosexual men aged 67–87, this article discusses how men make sense of later life sexuality through narratives of intimacy. In the interviews, intimacy is described as something more or other than sexual intercourse, involving both touch and feelings of love and closeness in a committed relationship. Inspired by the work of Ahmed ( The Cultural Politics of Emotion, 2004) the article discusses how narratives of intimacy shape the sexual subjectivities and bodies of older men. Intimacy is discussed as making sexual subjectivities and bodies possible beyond a coital imperative. As such, intimacy is of potential use to anti-ageist and feminist theorizing. However, intimacy is also discussed as a possible reinforcement of respectable heterosexuality. The article concludes that intimacy may be a way for older heterosexual men to navigate between current binary discourses of asexual old age and ‘sexy seniors’.
Suspended ethics and the team: Theorising team sportsplayers’ group sexual assault in the context of identity
Authors: Cover Rob
Published: May 2013

Men's elite team sports in Australia have recently been the subject of considerable public scrutiny subsequent to a series of instances of group sexual violence against women. Both scholarship and policy work have noted how homosocial institutions such as sporting teams have a greater likelihood of gender-based violence and have proposed the need for more ethical relations. This article explores some of the ways in which group sexual assault can be approached from the perspective of Judith Butler's theories of performativity. Arguing that the performance of subjectivity occurs differentially in highly bonded group contexts, cases of sexual assault by team sportsplayers can be understood as the result of a team’s group subjective suspension of ethics occurring in the temporality of off-field bonding. By developing alternative ways in which to understand the distinction between individual responsibility and local group subjectivity, it is argued that sportsplayers are well-placed to recognise the vulnerability of victims through their own vulnerability to injury and loss, thereby presenting the space for an ethics of non-violence that is grounded in recognition of the vulnerable other.
Queering the brothel: Identity construction and performance in Carson City, Nevada
Authors: Read Kate W
Published: May 2013

In an attempt to examine the brothel as a queer space, this article investigates identity construction and performance within the Cookie Guest Ranch, a legal brothel in Carson City, Nevada. This analysis is supported by the interviews of eight sex workers and seven staff members about the everyday social relationships within this space. A primary finding of this research is that brothels are not bastions of heteronormative domination but are spaces of fluid sexualities, heteroflexible performance, and negotiations of power. Additionally, identity performance is negotiated in unique and sometimes contradictory ways. These findings suggest that queer theory can be utilized and expanded to reconceptualize the social dynamics that are assumed to take place within such spaces, as well as complicate our understanding of identity performance within queer spaces, more generally.
Unequal sexual health – Differences between detained youth and their same aged peers
Authors: Lindroth Malin , Tikkanen Ronny , Löfgren-Mårtenson Lotta
Published: May 2013

Purpose: To describe sexual health risks in an understudied group, youth in detention, and compare these to sexual health risks among non-detained youth. In addition, variables predicting adverse sexual health outcomes are sought and compared. Methods: In 2009, a self-administered questionnaire on sexuality was conducted amongst youth in Sweden. In 2010, the same Internet-based questionnaire was applied in a study at Swedish detention centres. In this article, sexually active youth aged 15–20 years in the two groups are compared and bivariate logistic regression analyses are conducted in order to find predictors of adverse sexual health outcomes, among detainees and non-detainees respectively. Results: Major differences between the detained and the non-detained concerning a majority of risk-taking variables exist. Conclusions: Although detained youth display several risky sexual behaviors, no specific risk factors are found in a logistic regression analysis. However, this is a vulnerable group. The mere fact that an adolescent is placed at a detention centre should be an imperative for professionals to address the subject of sexual health and safer sex. Furthermore, the results will be used in a forthcoming sex education curriculum tailored especially at detained youth. This is one, but by far not the only way to minimize the health inequalities that are presented in this study.
On Associations between Housing Characteristics, Dampness and Asthma and Allergies among Children in Northeast Texas
Authors: Sun Yuexia , Sundell Jan
Published: May 2013

A cross-sectional study on the home environment and children’s health in Northeast Texas was carried out in 2008–2009. Two thousand eight hundred and nineteen (2,819) parents of children (1–8 years) reported their housing characteristics, home interior surface materials, dampness and children’s health status. The response rate was 71%. Health outcomes studied were wheeze, dry cough, rhinitis, eczema in the last 12 months and diagnosed asthma and hay fever. Dampness was significant risk factor for wheeze and rhinitis with adjusted odds ratio (AOR) 1.3–1.7. Mould/damp spot, condensation and suspected moisture problems were more commonly reported in buildings with flat roof and pier/beam foundation in hot and humid Northeast Texas. Compared to single family houses, trailers were associated with more dampness, consequently a significant increased prevalence of asthma (AOR 1.5 with 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.0–2.3), rhinitis (AOR 1.4, 95% CI 1.0–2.0) and hay fever (AOR 1.5, 95% CI 1.1–2.1). Central air-conditioning system, which re-circulates indoor air, was associated with less dampness problems. However, an increment trend of allergic symptoms was found in homes with air-conditioning system, especially for rhinitis (AOR 1.6, 95% CI 1.1–2.2). Carpet as floor covering and laminated panel as wall covering were associated with rhinitis (AOR 1.6, 95% CI 1.0–2.5) and wheezing (AOR 4.7, 95% CI 1.8–12.7), respectively.
Fine and coarse particle mass concentrations and emission rates in the workplace of a detergent industry
Authors: Glytsos Thodoros , Ondráček Jakub , Džumbová Lucie , Eleftheriadis Kostas , Lazaridis Mihalis
Published: May 2013

Aerosol mass concentration (PM10, PM2.5) measurements were conducted in the workplace of a detergent industry for two time periods during July 2005 and January 2006, using two portable real-time photometric monitors. The results showed increased mass concentrations both for PM10 and PM2.5 particles during the detergent production periods. The differences in the concentrations of the PM10 and PM2.5 particles were used to determine the corresponding mass concentrations of coarse particles and these values were then used to evaluate the diurnal variation both for fine and coarse particles. An indoor mass balance model was applied to estimate the aerosol mass emission rates, as well as the particle loss rates due to all removal processes. A good agreement was obtained between the model predictions and the measurements. The indoor model can be used in conjunction with experimental measurements for the evaluation of aerosol mass concentrations in industrial sites.
Numerical investigation on particle deposition in a chamber with an attached-wall heat source
Authors: Chen Xi , Li Angui , Gao Ran
Published: May 2013

The deposition of particles in a chamber with an attached-wall heat source is investigated numerically by the random walk model of Lagrangian method. The particle trajectories are evaluated by tracking 4,000 particles with a density of 1,400 kg m−3. The purpose of the present paper is to study the effect of the heat source length on the deposition of particles (2.5 µm–10 µm) and the particle deposition pattern on the attached-wall surface above the heat source. Numerical results show that the particle deposition fraction increases with the heat source length and the increase of the heat source length can accelerate particle deposition onto the attached wall. It is also found that the particle deposition number on the attached-wall surface above the heat source is a function of the deposit position and the particle size.
In search of internet governance: Performing order in digitally networked environments
Authors: Ziewitz Malte , Pentzold Christian
Published: May 2013

Internet governance is a difficult horse to catch. Far from being a coherent field of study, it presents itself as scattered across a range of disciplinary approaches that come with distinct theoretical, methodological and analytical preoccupations. In this paper, we critically review existing literatures on governance of, on and through the internet and draw attention to the ways in which they help perform the worlds in which they have their place. Retelling the case of the ‘Twitter Joke Trial’, we highlight the contingent and at times conflicting roles attributed to people, technologies and institutions, as well as the concerns that come with these. Rather than striving for a coherent definition of ‘internet governance’, we draw on recent work in science and technology studies to show that acknowledging the performativity and multiplicity of different modes of governance can open up a productive line of inquiry into the recursive relationship between governance research and practice.
Dialogue on some concepts, definitions and issues pertaining to ‘consumption experiences’
Authors: Woodward Michael N. , Holbrook Morris B.
Published: May 2013

The present paper offers a new and potentially useful approach to the development of knowledge in the fields of marketing and consumer research. Specifically, it reports a dialogue between a doctoral student (Michael N. Woodward (MNW)) and a recently retired professor (Morris B. Holbrook (MBH)) in which MNW and MBH debate the meaning(s) of various concepts in general and of the ‘consumption experience’ in particular. The presentation of this material in dialogue form – echoing the Socratic method but in a manner new to our own discipline – sheds light on both the relevant issues at stake and the rhetorical strategies of those who espouse somewhat different points of view.
A Gendered Analysis of Emotional Intelligence in the Workplace
Authors: Thory Kathryn
Published: May 2013

Drawing on a sociological analysis considering gender, this article explores how emotional intelligence (EI) abilities are socially constructed and valued. It presents a range of societal trends including “the future is female” to explore how both men and women are perceived and judged against symbolic representations of masculine and feminine when they perform gendered conceptions of EI. The article illuminates how women and men may be encouraged to take up feminine and masculine interpretations of EI skills but women fare less well. It then examines the effects of EI’s assessment and therapeutic methods in training and work-based use. It argues that these approaches are damaging to individuals when deployed in work environments where masculinized management resides as the dominant framework. Finally, the article discusses the findings in relation to HRD to reveal important theoretical guidelines for practice.
“We Remain Very Much the Second Sex”
Authors: Miele Rachelle , Clarke Juanne
Published: May 2013

Informed by social constructionism, biomedicalization, and a feminist framework, a discourse analysis was performed on 31 popular news articles published in North America between 2000 and 2010. The magazines construct prostate cancer in a gendered manner. Its construction is rooted in themes that are related to discussions of biology, prostate cancer as a heterosexual problem, the responsibilization of health and masculinity. Through these constructions, the popular news articles reinforce dominant ideals and performances of hegemonic masculinity and male sexuality, traditional femininity, and heteronormativity. While reinforcing such ideals, the prevention, treatment, and knowledge of prostate cancer is constructed as the responsibility of individual men. This study reveals that the articles favor discussions of heteronormativity and hegemonic masculinity over racism, rendering health inequalities silent.
Relational leadership, decision-making and the messiness of context in healthcare
Authors: Fulop Liz , Mark Annabelle
Published: May 2013

Decision-making is a neglected area in the leadership literature and in healthcare in particular. This paper draws on the Cynefin framework, which is a practice-based approach to decision-making, to theorize about leadership in healthcare. The framework uses a multi-ontology cognitive-based sense-making perspective to identify five domains of decision-making that are linked to individual leadership styles and given contexts. It is markedly different from other complexity approaches by the inclusion of the central domain of Disorder. While this inclusion is vitally important, the leadership implications of the approach are under-theorized. Focusing on the idea of Disorder, we argue alternatively that a relational leadership approach is needed to understand decision-making as a multi-ontology sensemaking approach and this also necessitates accounting for professional sensemaking in healthcare settings. The relational approach adopted here is based on Dian Hosking's work and views decision-making as a task that is undertaken through organizing processes that are cognitive but also social/cultural, political and emotional, and in which the social construction of leadership and context are inseparable individual and collective undertakings. When skilful relating is a part of leadership practice then multi-ontology sensemaking is a possibility in decision-making tasks. We support our arguments with illustrative examples to put forward a relational approach to leadership in healthcare.
Framing climate change and indigenous peoples
Authors: Roosvall Anna , Tegelberg Matthew
Published: May 2013

This article examines representations of indigenous peoples in Swedish and Canadian press coverage of the Copenhagen climate summit (COP15). It discusses tensions between the international character of UN summits and the often transnational character of indigenous peoples as well as the issue of climate change. It considers how conceptions of nature, culture and politics intersect in the coverage, and in what roles indigenous peoples appear. Building on theories concerning the representation of indigenous peoples, traditional environmental knowledge (TEK) and identity politics, the study combines content and framing analysis with discourse analysis of a small sample of articles about indigenous peoples. Indigenous peoples are underrepresented in the coverage. When indigenous voices emerge they appear as victim-heroes and important intermediaries of urgency and spirituality. They also appear as intermediaries of de-nationalization, but they are misframed politically, recognized in terms of their culture rather than represented in terms of their status.
Magnetic resonance monitoring of lesion evolution in multiple sclerosis
Authors: Rovira Àlex , Auger Cristina , Alonso Juli
Published: May 2013

Disease activity in multiple sclerosis (MS) is strongly linked to the formation of new lesions, which involves a complex sequence of inflammatory, degenerative, and reparative processes. Conventional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques, such as T2-weighted and gadolinium-enhanced T1-weighted sequences, are highly sensitive in demonstrating the spatial and temporal dissemination of demyelinating plaques in the brain and spinal cord. Hence, these techniques can provide quantitative assessment of disease activity in patients with MS, and they are commonly used in monitoring treatment efficacy in clinical trials and in individual cases. However, the correlation between conventional MRI measures of disease activity and the clinical manifestations of the disease, particularly irreversible disability, is weak. This has been explained by a process of exhaustion of both structural and functional redundancies that increasingly prevents repair and recovery, and by the fact that these imaging techniques do not suffice to explain the entire spectrum of the disease process and lesion development. Nonconventional MRI techniques, such as magnetization transfer imaging, diffusion-weighted imaging, and proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy, which can selectively measure the more destructive aspects of MS pathology and monitor the reparative mechanisms of this disease, are increasingly being used for serial analysis of new lesion formation and provide a better approximation of the pathological substrate of MS plaques. These nonconventional MRI-based measures better assess the serial changes in newly forming lesions and improve our understanding of the relationship between the damaging and reparative mechanisms that occur in MS.
Minimising the risk of device infection in penile prosthetic surgery: a UK perspective
Authors: Elmussareh Muhammad , Goddard Jonathan Charles , Summerton Duncan John , Terry Timothy Robin
Published: May 2013

We have reviewed articles published on penile prosthetic infection in Medline and EMBASE databases from 2000 to 2012 with the intention of signposting ‘best evidence’ for the UK prosthetic implanter. Using the Oxford Centre for Evidence-based Medicine Levels of Evidence (LE), no paper exceeded an LE of 2b and the majority were LE 4 (case series) and LE 5 (expert opinion). This is not surprising from a UK perspective since HES data for 2009 to 2010 reported 263 penile prosthetic surgeries performed in 35 hospitals, with only five hospitals performing 15 or more. Our literature review suggests that the use of antibiotic-coated IPPs and measures aimed at reducing inoculating bacteria into the surgical wound with alcohol skin preparation, a no-touch technique and peri-operative antibiotic use are most important in minimising the risk of device infection. The use of post-operative antibiotics is contentious (LE 5). It remains unproven whether diabetics have a higher rate of prosthetic infection compared to nondiabetics. In cases of re-implantation for mechanical failure, it remains debatable whether a washout technique should be used and indeed uncertainty remains regarding the pathological role of biofilm in the causation of device infection in this scenario. A washout technique during salvage penile prosthetic surgery for device infection is advocated. Further research on biofilm may offer the best chance of reducing the incidence of device infections overall.
Factors Contributing to Different Agency in Work and Study
Authors: Seiffge-Krenke Inge , Persike Malte , Luyckx Koen
Published: May 2013

Most young adults today are following longer educational tracks and postpone entrance into the workforce. This 2-year study aimed to determine factors contributing to occupational self-efficacy in a representative sample of n = 1,891 young adults ( M = 23.92, SD = 2.17 years) with different work statuses (studying, in an apprenticeship, employed, or unemployed). Occupational identity, perceived work quality, the ability to cope with work stress, and symptomatology were assessed. Path analyses revealed that work status was the most important predictor of later occupational self-efficacy, with employment showing the strongest prediction of later agency in the professional domain. Ruminative exploration, work stress, and internalizing symptoms contributed negatively to occupational self-efficacy, whereas commitment making and coping competence contributed positively to later agency in work and study. The discussion focuses on the early developmental roots of occupational self-efficacy.
Controlling the HIV Epidemic with Antiretrovirals
Authors: Mayer Kenneth , Gazzard Brian , Zuniga José M. , Amico K. Rivet , Anderson Jane , Azad Yusef , Cairns Gus , Dedes Nikos , Duncombe Chris , Fidler Sarah J. , Granich Reuben , Horberg Michael A. , McCormack Sheena , Montaner Julio S.G. , Rees Helen , Schackman Bruce , Sow Papa Salif
Published: May 2013

In the context of emerging evidence related to preexposure prophylaxis and HIV treatment as prevention, an evidence summit was held in mid-2012 to discuss the current state of the science and to provide a platform for consensus building around whether and how these prevention strategies might be implemented globally. Health care providers, researchers, policy makers, people living with HIV/AIDS, and representatives of government authorities, donor agencies, pharmaceutical companies, advocacy organizations, and professional associations attended from 52 countries. An international advisory committee was convened to identify key messages and recommendations based upon the data presented and discussed at the summit. The advisory committee further worked to develop this consensus statement meant to assist relevant stakeholders in taking stock and mapping out a route forward to enhance the HIV prevention armamentarium.
PET-CT staging of DLBCL accurately identifies and provides new insight into the clinical significance of bone marrow involvement
Authors: Khan Anjum Bashir , Barrington Sally Fiona , Mikhaeel Nabegh George , Hunt Alesia Abigael , Cameron Laura , Morris Tim , Carr Robert
Published: May 2013

Key Points

Routine staging by PET-CT identifies all clinically relevant marrow involvement by DLBCL. Cases with marrow involvement identified by PET-CT have PFS and overall survival similar to stage IV cases without marrow involvement.
Cisplatin-induced caspase activation mediates PTEN cleavage in ovarian cancer cells: a potential mechanism of chemoresistance
Authors: Singh Mohan , Chaudhry Parvesh , Fabi Francois , Asselin Eric
Published: May 2013

Background

The phosphatase and tensin homolog deleted on chromosome 10 (PTEN) tumor suppressor protein is a central negative regulator of the PI3K/AKT signaling cascade and suppresses cell survival as well as cell proliferation. PTEN is found to be either inactivated or mutated in various human malignancies. In the present study, we have investigated the regulation of PTEN during cisplatin induced apoptosis in A2780, A270-CP (cisplatin resistant), OVCAR-3 and SKOV3 ovarian cancer cell lines.

Methods

Cells were treated with 10μM of cisplatin for 24h. Transcript and protein levels were analysed by quantitative reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and western blotting, respectively. Immunofluorescence microscopy was used to assess the intracellular localization of PTEN. Proteasome inhibitor and various caspases inhibitors were used to find the mechanism of PTEN degradation.

Results

PTEN protein levels were found to be decreased significantly in A2780 cells; however, there was no change in PTEN protein levels in A2780-CP, OVCAR-3 and SKOV3 cells with cisplatin treatment. The decrease in PTEN protein was accompanied with an increase in the levels of AKT phosphorylation (pAKT) in A2780 cells and a decrease of BCL-2. Cisplatin treatment induced the activation/cleavage of caspase-3, -6, -7, -8, -9 in all cell lines tested in this study except the resistant variant A2780-CP cells. In A2780 cells, restoration of PTEN levels was achieved upon pre-treatment with Z-DEVD-FMK (broad range caspases inhibitor) and not with MG132 (proteasome inhibitor) and by overexpression of BCL-2, suggesting that caspases and BCL-2 are involved in the decrease of PTEN protein levels in A2780 cells.

Conclusion

The decrease in pro-apoptotic PTEN protein levels and increase in survival factor pAKT in A2780 ovarian cancer cells suggest that cisplatin treatment could further exacerbate drug resistance in A2780 ovarian cancer cells.
Metformin-mediated growth inhibition involves suppression of the IGF-I receptor signalling pathway in human pancreatic cancer cells
Authors: Karnevi Emelie , Said Katarzyna , Andersson Roland , Rosendahl Ann H
Published: May 2013

Background

Epidemiological studies have shown direct associations between type 2 diabetes and obesity, both conditions associated with hyperglycaemia and hyperinsulinemia, and the risk of pancreatic cancer. Up to 80% of pancreatic cancer patients present with either new-onset type 2 diabetes or impaired glucose tolerance at the time of diagnosis. Recent population studies indicate that the incidence of pancreatic cancer is reduced among diabetics taking metformin. In this study, the effects of exposure of pancreatic cancer cells to high glucose levels on their growth and response to metformin were investigated.

Methods

The human pancreatic cancer cell lines AsPC-1, BxPC-3, PANC-1 and MIAPaCa-2 were grown in normal (5 mM) or high (25 mM) glucose conditions, with or without metformin. The influence by metformin on proliferation, apoptosis and the AMPK and IGF-IR signalling pathways were evaluated in vitro.

Results

Metformin significantly reduced the proliferation of pancreatic cancer cells under normal glucose conditions. Hyperglycaemia however, protected against the metformin-induced growth inhibition. The anti-proliferative actions of metformin were associated with an activation of AMP-activated protein kinase AMPKThr172 together with an inhibition of the insulin/insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) receptor activation and downstream signalling mediators IRS-1 and phosphorylated Akt. Furthermore, exposure to metformin during normal glucose conditions led to increased apoptosis as measured by poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) cleavage. In contrast, exposure to high glucose levels promoted a more robust IGF-I response and Akt activation which correlated to stimulated AMPKSer485 phosphorylation and impaired AMPKThr172 phosphorylation, resulting in reduced anti-proliferative and apoptotic effects by metformin.

Conclusion

Our results indicate that metformin has direct anti-tumour activities in pancreatic cancer cells involving AMPKThr172 activation and suppression of the insulin/IGF signalling pathways. However, hyperglycaemic conditions enhance the insulin/IGF-I responses resulting in an altered AMPK activation profile and prevent metformin from fully switching off the growth promoting signals in pancreatic cancer cells.
Prevalence of obesity and overweight among Chinese children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: a survey in Zhejiang Province, China
Authors: Yang Rongwang , Mao Shujiong , Zhang Suhan , Li Rong , Zhao Zhengyan
Published: May 2013

Background

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is often comorbid with psychiatric and developmental disorders. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of obesity and overweight among Chinese children with ADHD, and to explore which subtypes of the disorder may specifically be associated with obesity/overweight.

Methods

Children meeting the DSM-IV criteria for ADHD were enrolled in the study. Weight, weight z-score, height, height z-score, BMI, and BMI z-score were used to evaluate growth status. Obesity and overweight were determined using the National Growth Reference for Chinese Children and Adolescents. Relations between the prevalence of obesity/overweight and different ADHD subtypes and pubertal development were analyzed.

Results

A total of 158 children with ADHD (mean age: 9.2 years) were recruited for the study. The prevalences of obesity, overweight, and combined obesity/overweight were 12.0%, 17.1%, and 29.1%, respectively, which were significantly higher than in the general Chinese population (2.1%, 4.5%, and 6.6%, respectively). Multivariable analysis showed that the children with the combined subtype of ADHD and the onset of puberty were at a higher risk of becoming obese or overweight.

Conclusions

The prevalence of obesity in Chinese children with ADHD is higher than that of the general population. Children with the ADHD combined subtype who were at the onset of puberty were more likely to be overweight or obese.
Patellar tendon ossification after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction using bone – patellar tendon – bone autograft
Authors: Camillieri Gianluca , Di Sanzo Vincenzo , Ferretti Matteo , Calderaro Cosma , Calvisi Vittorio
Published: May 2013

Background

Among the various complications described in literature, the patellar tendon ossification is an uncommon occurrence in anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction using bone – patellar tendon – bone graft (BPTB). The heterotopic ossification is linked to knee traumatism, intramedullary nailing of the tibia and after partial patellectomy, but only two cases of this event linked to ACL surgery have been reported in literature.

Case presentation

We present a case of a 42-year-old Caucasian man affected by symptomatic extended heterotopic ossification of patellar tendon after 20 months from ACL reconstruction using BPTB. The clinical diagnosis was confirmed by Ultrasound, X-Ray and Computed Tomography studies, blood tests were performed to exclude metabolic diseases then the surgical removal of the lesion was performed. After three years from surgery, the patient did not report femoro-patellar pain, there was not range of motion limitation and the clinical-radiological examinations resulted negative.

Conclusion

The surgical removal of the ossifications followed by anti-inflammatory therapy, seems to be useful in order to relieve pain and to prevent relapses. Moreover, a thorough cleaning of the patellar tendon may reveal useful, in order to prevent bone fragments remain inside it and to reduce patellar tendon heterotopic ossification risk.
Effects of polyunsaturated fatty acids on the growth of gastric cancer cells in vitro
Authors: Dai Jinfeng , Shen Junhui , Pan Wensheng , Shen Shengrong , Das Undurti N
Published: May 2013

Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) have tumoricidal action, though the exact mechanism of their action is not clear. The results of the present study showed that of all the fatty acids tested, linoleic acid (LA) and α-linolenic acid (ALA) were the most effective in suppressing the growth of normal gastric cells (GES1) at 180 and 200 μM, while gastric carcinoma cells (MGC and SGC) were inhibited at 200 μM. Arachidonic acid (AA) suppressed the growth of GES1, MGC and SGC cells and lower concentrations (120 and 160 μM) of AA were more effective against gastric carcinoma (MGC and SGC) cells compared to normal gastric cells (GES1). Paradoxically, both eicosapentaenoic (EPA) and docosahexaenoic (DHA) acids though are more unsaturated than AA, were less effective compared with LA, ALA and AA in suppressing the growth of both normal and cancer cells. At the concentration used, methotrexate showed much less growth suppressive action compared to all the fatty acids tested. PUFAs-treated cells showed accumulation of lipid droplets. A close association was noted between apoptosis and lipid peroxides formed compared to the ability of normal and tumor cells to generate ROS (reactive oxygen species) and induce SOD (superoxide dismutase activity) in response to fatty acids tested and methotrexate. Both normal and tumor cells generated lipoxin A4(LXA4) in response to supplementation of fatty acids and methotrexate though no significant correlation was noted between their ability to induce apoptosis and LXA4formed. These results suggest that PUFAs induced apoptosis of normal gastric and gastric carcinoma cells could, partly, be attributed to lipid peroxidation process.
Synthesis and photoelectrochemical response of CdS quantum dot-sensitized TiO2 nanorod array photoelectrodes
Authors: Hu Yunxia , Wang Baoyuan , Zhang Jieqiong , Wang Tian , Liu Rong , Zhang Jun , Wang Xina , Wang Hao
Published: May 2013

A continuous and compact CdS quantum dot-sensitive layer was synthesized on TiO2 nanorods by successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction (SILAR) and subsequent thermal annealing. The thickness of the CdS quantum dot layer was tuned by SILAR cycles, which was found to be closely related to light absorption and carrier transformation. The CdS quantum dot-sensitized TiO2 nanorod array photoelectrodes were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, ultraviolet–visible absorption spectroscopy, and photoelectrochemical property measurement. The optimum sample was fabricated by SILAR in 70 cycles and then annealed at 400°C for 1 h in air atmosphere. A TiO2/CdS core-shell structure was formed with a diameter of 35 nm, which presented an improvement in light harvesting. Finally, a saturated photocurrent of 3.6 mA/cm2 was produced under the irradiation of AM1.5G simulated sunlight at 100 mW/cm2. In particular, the saturated current density maintained a fixed value of approximately 3 mA/cm2 without decadence as time passed under the light conditions, indicating the steady photoelectronic property of the photoanode.
Effects of light-emitting diodes on muscle fatigue and exercise tolerance in patients with COPD: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial
Authors: Miranda Eduardo Foschini , Leal-Junior Ernesto Cesar Pinto , Marchetti Paulo Henrique , Dal Corso Simone
Published: May 2013

Background

Light-emitting diodes (LED) have been used to minimize muscle fatigue in athletes and healthy subjects. Patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are susceptible to early muscle fatigue.

Objective

The objective of this study is to investigate the acute effects of LED on muscle function, exercise capacity and cardiorespiratory responses during isometric and dynamic exercise in patients with COPD.

Methods

This study will assess 30 patients with moderate to severe obstruction (forced expiratory volume-one second,FEV1≤70% predicted). Isometric and dynamic protocols will be conducted in two visits each, for a total of four visits a week apart. First, venous blood will be taken from the patients. The isometric protocol will start with the determination of the maximum voluntary isometric contraction (MIVC) to determine the workload (60% of MIVC) for the isometric endurance test (IET). Patients will be randomized to receive either the placebo or LED application (each point will be irradiated for 30 s and the energy received at each point will be 41.7 J). Immediately after finishing this procedure, the patients will carry out the IET until the limit of tolerance or until a 20% fall of strength is observed. After the test, another blood draw will be taken. In another visit (one week later), the same order of procedures will be performed, except with the opposite (LED or placebo). For the dynamic endurance test (DET), the same procedures described above will be followed, except with 75% of the maximal workload obtained from the incremental cycle ergometer test used instead of the IET. The electromyography will be recorded during the isometric and dynamic protocols. Differences in muscle function, exercise capacity and cardiorespiratory responses between the LED and placebo applications will be analyzed. The therapeutic effects of LED could minimize muscle fatigue in patients with COPD by increasing exercise tolerance.

Trial registration

Trial registration number:NCT01448564
Pretreatment on Miscanthus lutarioriparious by liquid hot water for efficient ethanol production
Authors: Li Hong-Qiang , Li Cheng-Lan , Sang Tao , Xu Jian
Published: May 2013

Background

The C4 perennial grassMiscanthus giganteushas proved to be a promising bio-energy crop. However, the biomass recalcitrance is a major challenge in biofuel production. Effective pretreatment is necessary for achieving a high efficiency in converting the crop to fermentable sugars, and subsequently biofuels and other valued products.

Results

Miscanthus lutarioripariouswas pretreated with a liquid hot water (LHW) reactor. Between the pretreatment severity (PS) of 2.56-4.71, the solid recovery was reduced; cellulose recovery remained nearly unchanged; and the Klason lignin content was slightly increased which was mainly due to the dissolving of hemicellulose and the production of a small amount of pseudo-lignin. The result shows that a LHW PS of 4.71 could completely degrade the hemicellulose inMiscanthus. Hemicellulose removal dislodged the enzymatic barrier of cellulose, and the ethanol conversion of 98.27% was obtained.

Conclusions

Our study demonstrated that LHW served as an effective pretreatment in case thatMiscanthus lutarioripariouswas used for ethanol production by simultaneous saccharification and fermentation. The combination and the pretreatment method ofMiscanthusfeedstock holds a great potential for biofuel production.
Lung cancer diagnosis on ovary mass: a case report
Authors: Losito Nunzia Simona , Scaffa Cono , Cantile Monica , Botti Gerardo , Costanzo Raffaele , Manna Angela , Franco Renato , Greggi Stefano
Published: May 2013

Metastatic neoplasms to the ovary often cause diagnostic problems, in particular those large ovarian masses mimicking primary tumors. Most of these tumors arise from digestive system or breast, while 37-year-old woman diagnosed as right adnexal complex mass, with a subpleural nodule in the apical part of the left lower lobe, at preoperative chest computed tomography scan. The patient underwent total abdominal hysterectomy with right salpingo-oophorectomy (ovarian mass 220 × 200 mm), total omentectomy, left ovarian biopsy, peritoneal random biopsies, and peritoneal washings for cytology. Pathologic and immunohistochemical examination of ovarian specimen suggested morphology and expression of metastatic lung adenocarcinoma with an intense positivity for Thyroid Transcriptional Factor-1 (TTF-1) and Cytokeratin 7 (CK7) staining. Fine needle biopsy of the lung nodule found epithelioid like malignant cells, confirming the diagnosis of an ovarian metastasis from a primary lung cancer.

This report focused on the clinical and pathologic diagnostic challenge of distinguishing secondary from primary ovarian neoplasms. Issues on useful immunohistochemical stains are also discussed.