bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
High Home Blood Pressure Variability Associates With Exaggerated Blood Pressure Response to Cold Stress
Authors: Hintsala Heidi E , Kiviniemi Antti M , Antikainen Riitta , Mäntysaari Matti , Jokelainen Jari , Hassi Juhani , Tulppo Mikko P , Herzig Karl-Heinz , Keinänen-Kiukaanniemi Sirkka , Rintamäki Hannu , Jaakkola Jouni J K , Ikäheimo Tiina M
Published: March 2019

BACKGROUND

Exaggerated sympathetic cardiovascular (CV) reactivity to stress associates with elevated risk for clinical and preclinical end points of CV disease. It would be useful to identify these individuals, preferably from feasible measurements commonly used in health care. Our study examined the association between home blood pressure (BP) variability and cardiac workload response to whole-body cold exposure.

METHODS

Seventy-five men (55–65 years, 46 hypertensive) measured BP at home twice in the morning and evening for a week. We computed systolic home BP variability as SD of daily means and divided the subjects into groups demonstrating either high or low BP variability. They were exposed to whole-body cold exposure (−10 °C, wind 3 m/second, 15 minutes, winter clothes, standing). BP and heart rate were measured at 3-minute intervals during, and 15 minutes before and after the exposure. Rate-pressure product (RPP) was calculated to represent cardiac workload.

RESULTS

Subjects with high systolic home BP variability demonstrated a greater RPP increase in cold conditions compared to those with low BP variability [mean change from baseline (95% CI): 1,850 (1,450 to 2,250) bpm × mm Hg vs. 930 (610, 1,250) bpm × mm Hg, P < 0.01]. This was related to the augmented systolic BP change [31(28, 35) mm Hg vs. 23(20, 26) mm Hg, P < 0.01]. Home BP variability correlated with cold-related RPP (rS = 0.34, P = 0.003) and systolic BP (rS = 0.38, P < 0.001) responses.

CONCLUSIONS

Moderate whole-body cold exposure increased BP and cardiac workload more among those with higher systolic home BP variability, independently of home BP level. Elevated home BP variability may indicate augmented sympathetically mediated vascular reactivity for environmental stressors.

PUBLIC TRIALS REGISTRY NUMBER

Trial Number NCT02007031.
Morbidity in a Longitudinal Cohort of Children Residing in Villages Randomized to Biannual Treatment With Azithromycin Versus Placebo
Authors: West Sheila K , Bloch Evan , Weaver Jerusha , Munoz Beatriz , Mrango Zakayo , Kasubi Mabula , Lietman Thomas , Coles Christian
Published: March 2019

Background

The mechanisms underlying the finding of reduced child mortality in communities with biannual treatment with azithromycin remain unclear. We determined if there was a difference in morbidity in a cohort of children aged 1–36 months, residing in communities randomized to biannual treatment of preschool-aged children with azithromycin or placebo.

Methods

Thirty villages in Kilosa, Tanzania, were randomly assigned to receive biannual treatment of all children aged 1–59 months with either azithromycin (20/mg/kg single dose) or placebo. Children who were aged 1–36 months and participated in the baseline survey were enrolled in this cohort study and followed prospectively for 2 years. Children were monitored every 6 months for signs and symptoms of diarrheal disease, acute respiratory illness, and anemia. Mixed-effects models that include age, time, treatment arm, and the interaction of treatment arm and time as independent predictors were used to evaluate differences between children by treatment assignment over time.

Results

There was no difference in rates of diarrhea, fever, or anemia by treatment arm at baseline and at all phases of follow-up. The decline over time in reported cough was statistically significant in the children residing in the azithromycin communities, but not in the placebo communities. Once adjusting for clustering and age, the difference in decline between the 2 treatment arms was not significant (P = .09).

Conclusions

A beneficial effect of azithromycin treatment on morbidity outcomes was not evident at biannual surveys.

Clinical Trials Registration

NCT02048007.
Who benefits from healthcare spending in Cambodia? Evidence for a universal health coverage policy
Authors: Asante Augustine D , Ir Por , Jacobs Bart , Supon Limwattananon , Liverani Marco , Hayen Andrew , Jan Stephen , Wiseman Virginia
Published: March 2019

Cambodia’s healthcare system has seen significant improvements in the last two decades. Despite this, access to quality care remains problematic, particularly for poor rural Cambodians. The government has committed to universal health coverage (UHC) and is reforming the health financing system to align with this goal. The extent to which the reforms have impacted the poor is not always clear. Using a system-wide approach, this study assesses how benefits from healthcare spending are distributed across socioeconomic groups in Cambodia. Benefit incidence analysis was employed to assess the distribution of benefits from health spending. Primary data on the use of health services and the costs associated with it were collected through a nationally representative cross-sectional survey of 5000 households. Secondary data from the 2012–14 Cambodia National Health Accounts and other official documents were used to estimate the unit costs of services. The results indicate that benefits from health spending at the primary care level in the public sector are distributed in favour of the poor, with about 32% of health centre benefits going to the poorest population quintile. Public hospital outpatient benefits are quite evenly distributed across all wealth quintiles, although the concentration index of −0.058 suggests a moderately pro-poor distribution. Benefits for public hospital inpatient care are substantially pro-poor. The private sector was significantly skewed towards the richest quintile. Relative to health need, the distribution of total benefits in the public sector is pro-poor while the private sector is relatively pro-rich. Looking across the entire health system, health financing in Cambodia appears to benefit the poor more than the rich but a significant proportion of spending remains in the private sector which is largely pro-rich. There is the need for some government regulation of the private sector if Cambodia is to achieve its UHC goals.
An Authentic Pan-Hispanic Language Policy? Spain as the Point of Reference in the Spanish Royal Academy’s Diccionario de la lengua espaÑola
Authors: Rodríguez Barcia Susana , Moskowitz Andre
Published: March 2019

Despite the Spanish Royal Academy’s claim that it has broken away from its Eurocentric perspective and embraced a pan-Hispanic approach, a careful analysis of its dictionary, the Diccionario de la lengua española (DLE), reveals a clear bias in favor of Peninsular Spanish usage and a systematic relegation of Latin American Spanish to an inferior, subsidiary status. This paper arises out of that specific concern and is focused on a close reading of the Spanish Royal Academy’s DLE in its most recent electronic version 23.1 (2017). In this paper we will show that the Real Academia Española’s claim of a pan-Hispanic approach is in fact a disingenuous smokescreen and that, in reality, the DLE places Latin American Spanish usage in an inferior and subsidiary status via-a-vis Peninsular Spanish usage. To demonstrate this, we have classified selected dictionary entries into two categories: 1) Latin American Spanish usages that are defined by cross-references to the term used in Peninsular Spanish; and 2) usages that occur frequently in Spain and rarely in Spanish-speaking Latin America (Peninsular Spanish usages or españolismos) but are defined in the Dictionary with no geographic marker whatsoever. The results of our analysis reveal that the DLE repeatedly presents Peninsular Spanish usage as if it were General Spanish or ‘neutral Spanish’ and portrays Latin American Spanish as the ‘other.’ This study reveals the fallacy of the RAE’s pan-Hispanic language policy, an institutional device that attempts to force linguistic unity centered around Peninsular Spanish usage where no such unity in fact exists. We will also show that the motivation for this policy stems from a combination of a neocolonial bias and economic interests that seek to promote Spain’s international standing and branding as a country.
On the verge of a chronic disease epidemic: comprehensive policies and actions are needed in Indonesia
Authors: Kusuma Dian , Kusumawardani Nunik , Ahsan Abdillah , K. Sebayang Susy , Amir Vilda , Ng Nawi
Published: March 2019

In the midst of tackling the persistent burden of maternal mortality and infectious diseases, Indonesia is facing an increasing burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs). Although there are increasing national efforts in NCD prevention and control, the worsening trend of NCD risk factors and morbidity is alarming. We provided assessment and discussion on the policies and actions needed in the country including comprehensive efforts to reduce tobacco use and unhealthy diet, the need to reorient the health systems for better NCD prevention and control, and the promotion of NCD-related research that are still lacking.
Antibiotic prescribing for common infections in UK general practice: variability and drivers
Authors: Palin Victoria , Mölter Anna , Belmonte Miguel , Ashcroft Darren M , White Andrew , Welfare William , van Staa Tjeerd
Published: March 2019

Objectives

To examine variations across general practices and factors associated with antibiotic prescribing for common infections in UK primary care to identify potential targets for improvement and optimization of prescribing.

Methods

Oral antibiotic prescribing for common infections was analysed using anonymized UK primary care electronic health records between 2000 and 2015 using the Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD). The rate of prescribing for each condition was observed over time and mean change points were compared with national guideline updates. Any correlation between the rate of prescribing for each infectious condition was estimated within a practice. Predictors of prescribing were estimated using logistic regression in a matched patient cohort (1:1 by age, sex and calendar time).

Results

Over 8 million patient records were examined in 587 UK general practices. Practices varied considerably in their propensity to prescribe antibiotics and this variance increased over time. Change points in prescribing did not reflect updates to national guidelines. Prescribing levels within practices were not consistent for different infectious conditions. A history of antibiotic use significantly increased the risk of receiving a subsequent antibiotic (by 22%–48% for patients with three or more antibiotic prescriptions in the past 12 months), as did higher BMI, history of smoking and flu vaccinations. Other drivers for receiving an antibiotic varied considerably for each condition.

Conclusions

Large variability in antibiotic prescribing between practices and within practices was observed. Prescribing guidelines alone do not positively influence a change in prescribing, suggesting more targeted interventions are required to optimize antibiotic prescribing in the UK.
Pay to Quit and Team Incentives
Authors: Au Pak Hung
Published: March 2019

This paper examines the optimal compensation scheme, job design, and severance policy for a team using a model of repeated moral hazard. In the optimal contract, the agent may be paid to quit after a poor performance. We show that a generous severance policy facilitates the adoption of team incentives and team-based production by making it cost-effective to implement peer monitoring and sanction among the agents.
A harlequin ichthyosis pig model with a novel ABCA12 mutation can be rescued by acitretin treatment
Authors: Wang Xiao , Cao Chunwei , Li Yongshun , Hai Tang , Jia Qitao , Zhang Ying , Zheng Qiantao , Yao Jing , Qin Guosong , Zhang Hongyong , Song Ruigao , Wang Yanfang , Shui Guanghou , Lam Sin Man , Liu Zhonghua , Wei Hong , Meng Anming , Zhou Qi , Zhao Jianguo
Published: March 2019

Harlequin ichthyosis (HI) is a severe genetic skin disorder and caused by mutation in the ATP-binding cassette A12 (ABCA12) gene. The retinoid administration has dramatically improved long-term survival of HI, but improvements are still needed. However, the ABCA12 null mice failed to respond to retinoid treatment, which impedes the development of novel cure strategies for HI. Here we generated an ethylnitrosourea mutagenic HI pig model (named Z9), which carries a novel deep intronic mutation IVS49-727 A>G in the ABCA12 gene, resulting in abnormal mRNA splicing and truncated protein production. Z9 pigs exhibit significant clinical symptom as human patients with HI. Most importantly, systemic retinoid treatment significantly prolonged the life span of the mutant pigs via improving epidermal maturation, decreasing epidermal apoptosis, and triggering the expression of ABCA6. Taken together, this pig model perfectly resembles the clinical symptom and molecular pathology of patients with HI and will be useful for understanding mechanistic insight and developing therapeutic strategies.
Mind the Gap: Spanning the Great Divide Between Perceived and Measured Value of Infectious Disease Physicians
Authors: Coffin Susan E , Lee Grace M
Published: March 2019

The pediatric infectious disease community has struggled to identify metrics that demonstrate the value that we add to the care of our patients. This challenge is largely a function of our typical role as a consultant in most healthcare settings. Most current quality metrics, however, are designed to measure patient outcomes that are directly affected by the primary clinical team, not the consultants they seek to involve. Novel measurement strategies are needed to capture the value that pediatric infectious disease consultation adds to the health of individual patients and the well-being of populations.
Fractional-dose yellow fever vaccination: an expert review
Authors: Roukens Anna H E , Visser Leo G
Published: March 2019

Rationale for review: The global yellow fever vaccine supply is insufficient to provide full-dose vaccination to millions threatened by outbreaks. Given the excess of live-attenuated 17D yellow fever virus in the current single dose vials, dose sparing would increase available vaccine doses manifold. Fractional-dose yellow fever vaccination is now accepted as an emergency solution, as short-term protection has been confirmed in an outbreak situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo, but broader application of this dose-sparing strategy is still not recommended. In this review, important knowledge gaps that hamper this application such as long-term protection after fractional-dose vaccination, safety, comparability across different genetic backgrounds and different World Health Organization-licensed yellow fever vaccines and immunogenicity in infants are addressed.

Main findings: Recently, published results on long-term protection after fractional-dose vaccination in healthy young volunteers indicate that if a person mounts a protective response shortly after vaccination, the protective response will persist for 10 years and possibly longer. It also appears that fractional-dose vaccination does not elicit more serious adverse events than standard dose vaccination. Short-term immunogenicity studies are currently underway in specific populations (infants, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected persons and healthy adults living in Uganda and Kenya), of which the results will become available in 2021–22.

Conclusions: Available results on long-lasting immunogenicity of fractional-dose yellow fever vaccination are encouraging, although confirmation is required in larger populations including young children living in yellow fever endemic areas.
Judging style: The case of Bush versus Gore
Authors: Jockers Matthew L , Nascimento Fernando , Taylor George H
Published: March 2019

The judgments by members of the US Supreme Court in the 2000 case of Bush versus Gore remain controversial to the present. We use text mining and machine learning methods to compare the word usage patterns of Supreme Court Justices in order to explore the likely authorship of both the anonymous 5-4 per curiam decision in this case and the concurrence that is attributed to Chief Justice Rehnquist, with Scalia and Thomas joining. An analysis of high and medium frequency words suggests that Justice Kennedy was likely the main contributor to the per curiam decision. A similar analysis of the concurrence, however, suggests that Justice Scalia may have played a more central role than the document’s purported author, Justice Rehnquist. Our analysis indicates that while Chief Justice Rehnquist was likely to have been the crafter of the document, much of the more forceful language of the concurrence resonates more clearly with a vocabulary that is indicative of Justice Scalia.
Generally applicable transcriptome-wide analysis of translation using anota2seq
Authors: Oertlin Christian , Lorent Julie , Murie Carl , Furic Luc , Topisirovic Ivan , Larsson Ola
Published: March 2019

mRNA translation plays an evolutionarily conserved role in homeostasis and when dysregulated contributes to various disorders including metabolic and neurological diseases and cancer. Notwithstanding that optimal and universally applicable methods are critical for understanding the complex role of translational control under physiological and pathological conditions, approaches to analyze translatomes are largely underdeveloped. To address this, we developed the anota2seq algorithm which outperforms current methods for statistical identification of changes in translation. Notably, in contrast to available analytical methods, anota2seq also allows specific identification of an underappreciated mode of gene expression regulation whereby translation acts as a buffering mechanism which maintains protein levels despite fluctuations in corresponding mRNA abundance (‘translational buffering’). Thus, the universal anota2seq algorithm allows efficient and hitherto unprecedented interrogation of translatomes which is anticipated to advance knowledge regarding the role of translation in homeostasis and disease.
Peacemaking Criminology
Authors: Trombley J. Renee
Published: March 2019

Peacemaking criminology is a branch of critical criminology that became popular in the early 1990s, largely through the work of Harold Pepinsky and Richard Quinney in their seminal edited work, Criminology as Peacemaking (Pepinsky and Quinney 1991, cited under General Overviews). In a separate chapter, Quinney provides nine propositions for understanding the characteristics of criminology as peacemaking and gives directions for how individual transformations can characterize a justice system ruled by peace instead of war. Peacemaking criminology is grounded in the knowledge that what we know is always limited, that individually we are all on a spiritual journey, that human life is characterized by suffering, and that crime and criminal behavior is only one expression of this suffering. Quinney asserts that through love, compassion, and empathy, a nonviolent criminology has the power to end suffering, and thus end crime. Peacemaking criminology explains that personal transformation is the first step for each of us in developing and promoting peacemaking practices and policies. It is through this individual level of transformation that change will be possible on a broader scale. These ideas are revolutionary and evidence of their implementation can still be elusive. However, processes built on the tenets of restorative justice integrate some of the core principles of peacemaking criminology and do offer an opportunity to put this perspective into practice. This outline explores the philosophical perspective of peacemaking criminology and offers an examination of the ways that peacemaking criminology has been applied in real world settings. The process of teaching peacemaking through pedagogy in the criminal justice classroom is examined as well as ways that peacemaking criminology has been envisioned through various programs and policies, including those focused on restorative justice practices, both within the United States and internationally (see the separate Oxford Bibliographies in Criminology article “Restorative Justice”).
The Creek Indians in the Atlantic World
Authors: Rindfleisch Bryan
Published: March 2019

The Creek Indians (Mvskoke) are a nation of Native Peoples recognized by the US federal government today. Historically, though, the Creeks were a multiethnic group of Indigenous Peoples in the Southeast descended from Mississippian societies. European colonialism in the 16th and 17th centuries disrupted Mississippian societies—primarily due to the mortality associated with diseases and the Indian slave trade—and they gradually dispersed throughout the region. Several of these peoples, led by the Muskogean-speaking Abihkas, Tallapoosas, and Apalachicolas, formed a loose coalition of towns during the mid-17th century. The emergent Creek Indians eventually incorporated non-Muskogean groups, such as the Yuchis, Chickasaws, Hitchitis, Natchez, and Apalachees. By the turn of the 18th century, Europeans identified the existence of a Creek Confederacy, a political entity noted for its divisions between Lower and Upper towns. Throughout the 18th century, the Creek Confederacy perfected a strategy of playing Europeans powers—Great Britain, Spain, and France—against one another. Despite being a confederacy of towns, Creek peoples remained distinct from one another. The primary source of identity in the Creek world was the talwa, one’s home community. From political mediation and ceremonial gatherings to hosting the annual Busk festival, one’s town meant everything. Within the town it was the micos, or civil leaders, who spearheaded political life in the Creek world. However, the authority of a mico did not involve coercion but persuasion, which forced town leaders to abide by their community’s will. The authority of a mico also hinged on sustaining a steady flow of trade between his town and Europeans, which revolved around the exchange of deerskins harvested by Creek hunters. This deerskin trade was the basis for the Creeks’ engagement with the Atlantic world. The Confederacy again experienced profound transformations after the American Revolution, when, faced with an expansionist United States. Conflict with the United States varied between restrained acts of violence and outright war, but eventually a new generation of leaders, born of Euro-American and Creek worlds, reimagined the Creek Confederacy. The resulting “Plan of Civilization,” which included everything from a written constitution to adopting racial slavery, was intended to prove that the Creek peoples could become “civilized,” even though such a status came at the expense of the distinct identities that previously defined the Confederacy. Nevertheless, the efforts to convince the United States to accept Creeks on a nation-to-nation basis failed and produced the removal of Creek peoples during the 19th century. Today, though, despite centuries of colonialism, the Creek (Muscogee) peoples continue to adapt to the world around them, whether in Oklahoma, Alabama, Texas, or Louisiana.
Cultural Safety
Authors: Halseth Regine , Stout Roberta , Atkinson Donna
Published: March 2019

First introduced into nursing education and health care in New Zealand in 1992 by Maori scholar Irihapeti Ramsden, the concept of “cultural safety” is situated within a postcolonial discourse and is concerned with social justice through redressing health inequities and improving access to health care. It is understood as providing care in ways that do not leave patients feeling inferior, alienated, disempowered, devalued, or dissuaded from or denied access to health care, but rather maintains their respect and dignity. When applied, the concept challenges health professionals to continually consider the negative effects their beliefs, attitudes, and practices may have on their patients and their care, and critically reflect on and become self-aware of any biases they may have, rooted in their own culture, that may be contributing to power imbalances in patient-provider interactions. Cultural safety responds to the unique needs of minority and marginalized populations by incorporating respect for their cultural traditions and identities. It also takes into account the systemic and structural barriers that may affect access to health care and the quality of care received, including the socioeconomic determinants that affect health and well-being. Cultural safety is defined by the experiences of patients, not caregivers. Originally conceptualized as a decolonizing model of health-care practice and policy for Indigenous peoples to challenge racism and establish trust in health-care encounters through dialogue, power sharing, negotiation, and acknowledging white privilege, cultural safety has evolved to encompass a broader definition of “culture” that includes ethnicity, age, sexual orientation, religious or spiritual beliefs, gender, and (dis)abilities. While cultural safety is increasingly considered a best practice in the care of vulnerable patients, much debate remains about what the concept entails, how it should be taught, and how to apply it in practice, as well as its relevance within various settings and contexts. This review aims to enhance readers’ understanding of cultural safety in health care by providing an overview of literature in this field. This is a relatively small body of literature, focused primarily on the Canadian, New Zealand, Australian, and American contexts, and much of it is relatively recent and not well known, perhaps signaling an increasing urgency to transform health-care systems to address persistent health inequities for vulnerable and marginalized populations in these places. The literature is categorized into three primary themes—Understanding Cultural Safety in Context, Cultural Safety Education and Training, and Application of Cultural Safety in Policy, Practice, and Other Settings—with further sub-themes.
The Dutch in South America and the Caribbean
Authors: Ebert Christopher
Published: March 2019

The concept of “Latin America” gained currency only in modern times, and its use as an organizing concept for the early modern period is limited. The best way to understand the involvement of the Dutch Republic in overseas colonizing efforts is through the idea of Atlantic history. This involvement was part and parcel of the fitful consolidation of the Republic in the latter decades of the 16th century, as the “rebellious provinces” took their war with Habsburg Spain to Spanish Atlantic possessions. A more sustained assault on the Iberian Atlantic began with the chartering of the first Dutch West India Company (WIC) in 1621. A short-lived invasion of Salvador da Bahia, Brazil’s colonial capital, was followed by a successful occupation of the rich sugar-producing captaincy of Pernambuco from 1630 to 1654. Dutch New York, by way of comparison, was a small venture. Grand schemes for large Dutch colonies in territories claimed by the Spanish and Portuguese monarchies came to nothing, and the WIC was reorganized in 1674 with more modest ambitions. The Dutch subsequently established a vigorous presence in Suriname, Curaçao, and a handful of islands in the Lesser Antilles embracing plantation agriculture, trade, and financial services. This bibliography examines Dutch Atlantic world historiography with a focus on competition with the Iberian empires, especially in Brazil. It also discusses works on other Dutch outposts, which are considered collectively as a “Caribbean zone,” whether mainland or island. Administered only loosely by the second WIC, these colonies became sites of vigorous interaction with all the other European Atlantic powers throughout the 18th century. Other sections list works on the Dutch in the Atlantic slave trade and slavery in Dutch colonies, the history of Portuguese Jews in the Dutch Atlantic world, and published primary sources relevant to Dutch Atlantic history.
Roger Corman
Authors: Leeder Murray
Published: March 2019

“The King of the B Movies.” “The Pope of Pop Cinema.” “The Spiritual Godfather of the New Hollywood.” “The King of Cult.” Celebrated and reviled, the many-nicknamed Roger Corman is a remarkable filmmaker for many reasons. By all accounts a quiet, unassuming man with left-wing politics who is nevertheless known as a cutthroat businessman and unapologetic capitalist, Corman is enshrined in Hollywood legend for his thrift and innovation. His 1950s and 1960s output as a director, mainly for American International Pictures (AIP), is varied and colorful: science fiction films, gangster films, motor racing films, biker films, sex comedies, Westerns. And yet it is surely for his horror films he is best remembered, especially the mid-budget series adapting Edgar Allan Poe stories, mostly starring Vincent Price. He is also well known as a nurturer of new talent, providing numerous actors and directors with early opportunities; his successful disciples have rewarded him with cameos in films such as The Godfather Part II (1974) and The Silence of the Lambs (1991). Corman was an innovator on the business side as well. In 1959, he and his brother Gene Corman founded a distribution company called Filmgroup; it folded within a few years but was a prelude to the founding of Corman’s much more successful New World Pictures in 1970. New World was oriented toward inexpensive exploitation films but also responsible for the American distribution of many international art films by directors such as Ingmar Bergman, Federico Fellini, and Akira Kurosawa. Academic attention to Corman came slowly. There was a swell of interest in the late 1960s and thereafter, identifying him as a low-budget auteur who maintained a distinctive set of themes unifying a diverse body of work, but it happened just as he retreated from directing, only sporadically returning to the director’s chair. Though Corman directed around fifty films, that count is vastly outstripped by his films as a producer, a role he regularly occupies to this day. General public appreciation for Corman peaked with his 2009 Honorary Academy Award and the celebratory documentary Corman’s World: Exploits of a Hollywood Rebel (2011).
Jacob Frank
Authors: Maciejko Pawel
Published: March 2019

Ya‘akov (Jakub) ben Yehudah Leib Frank (b. 1726–d. 1791) was the founder of Frankism, a Jewish religious movement that spread in East-Central Europe in the second half of the 18th century. Ya‘akov ben Leyb, later known as Frank or Frenk, was born in Podolia, the east-southernmost Palatinate of the Polish-Lihuanian Commonwealth in a family of known Sabbatians. When he was only a few months old, his family left Poland and moved to the Ottoman Empire. In Salonika, he established contacts with the most radical branch of the Dönmeh, founded by Berukhiah Russo (d. 1720), who was considered by his followers to be the next manifestation of the soul of Shabetai Tsevi. In 1755, Frank returned to Poland where he presented himself as an emissary of the Dönmeh and a famous kabbalist. He managed to unify splintered Sabbatian groups and attracted many followers throughout Podolia. Arrested by the rabbinic authorities, Frank and his followers demanded permission to hold a public disputation against the rabbis. Two disputations were held, the first one in Kamieniec Podolski in 1757 and the other one in Lviv in 1759. It the wake of the second disputation Frank and several thousands of his followers converted to Roman Catholicism. Shortly after the conversion, Frank was arrested again, this time by the Christians. He spent thirteen years in the prison-monastery in Częstowchowa. Therein, he developed a set of highly original theological doctrines focusing on the concept of the female messiah. Freed in 1772 by the Russians, he settled in Brno in Moravia. Frank died in 1791 in Offenbach am Main. The movement founded by him continued, in various forms, at least till the mid-19th century.
Rabbit Antithymocyte Globulin Causes Blastomyces and Histoplasma Antigenemia
Authors: Kaur Amrit , Eberlein Michael , Klesney-Tait Julia , Durkin Michelle M , Wheat L Joseph , Gajurel Kiran
Published: March 2019

Rabbit antithymocyte globulin (rATG) is known to yield false-positive Histoplasma antigenemia. The fourth generation MiraVista Histoplasma antigen assay was modified to block this effect (MiraVista Diagnostics, Indianapolis, Indiana). We report a case of rATG-induced false-positive Blastomyces and Histoplasma antigenemia in a lung transplant recipient despite modifications of these antigen assays.
Change in Policy Allowing Overlapping Surgery Decreases Length of Stay in an Academic, Safety-Net Hospital
Authors: DiGiorgio Anthony M , Mummaneni Praveen V , Fisher Jonathan L , Podet Adam G , Crutcher Clifford L , Virk Michael S , Fang Zhide , Wilson Jason D , Tender Gabriel C , Culicchia Frank
Published: March 2019

BACKGROUND

The practice of surgeons running overlapping operating rooms has recently come under scrutiny.

OBJECTIVE

To examine the impact of hospital policy allowing overlapping rooms in the case of patients admitted to a tertiary care, safety-net hospital for urgent neurosurgical procedures.

METHODS

The neurosurgery service at the hospital being studied transitioned from routinely allowing 1 room per day (period 1) to overlapping rooms (period 2), with the second room being staffed by the same attending surgeon. Patients undergoing neurosurgical intervention in each period were retrospectively compared. Demographics, indication, case type, complications, outcomes, and total charges were tracked.

RESULTS

There were 59 urgent cases in period 1 and 63 in period 2. In the case of these patients, the length of stay was significantly decreased in period 2 (13.09 d vs 19.52; P = .006). The time from admission to surgery (wait time) was also significantly decreased in period 2 (5.12 d vs 7.00; P = .04). Total charges also trended towards less in period 2 (

150 942 vs

200 075; P = .05). Surgical complications were no different between the groups (16.9% vs 14.3%; P = .59), but medical complications were significantly decreased in period 2 (14.3% vs 30.5%; P = .009). Significantly more patients were discharged to home in period 2 (69.8% vs 42.4%; P = .003).

CONCLUSION

As a matter of policy, allowing overlapping rooms significantly reduces the length of stay in the case of a vulnerable population in need of urgent surgery at a single safety-net academic institution. This may be due to a reduction in medical complications in these patients.
No Man’s Land? Gendering Contraception in Family Planning Advice Literature in State-Socialist Poland (1950s–1980s)
Authors: Ignaciuk Agata
Published: March 2019

This article examines popular medical discourses on contraception produced in state-socialist Poland following the legalisation of abortion in 1956, a time when the party state declared family planning to be a public health project. By analysing popular medical literature, I argue that the popularisation of family planning constructed and relied on gender norms that could ease anxieties about the mainstreaming of ideas relating to sexuality and contraception, as well as about gender equality in a state-socialist context. I show that the femininity constructed in Polish birth control advice was based in fertility and the physical attractiveness required to maintain a husband’s sexual interest. Although masculinity was represented as distant, egoistic and violent, experts broadcast mixed messages about the effectiveness and usefulness of popular male contraceptive methods, some of which were at times utterly demonised.
EU Free Movement Law and the Children of Rainbow Families: Children of a Lesser God?
Authors: Tryfonidou Alina
Published: March 2019

EU citizens and—through them—certain of their family members, derive from EU law the right to move between EU Member States and reside in the Member State of their choice. This right is enjoyed by all Union citizens irrespective of their sexual orientation. However, when rainbow families (ie families comprised of a same-sex couple and their child(ren)) exercise this right and move to a Member State which does not provide legal recognition to same-sex couples and/or their families, they are faced with the possibility that that Member State will refuse to legally recognize the familial ties among all or some members of the family, as these have been legally established elsewhere. This means that such families are not treated in the same way as the typical nuclear family which has an opposite-sex, married, couple with children as its basis; the familial links among the members of the nuclear family are only very rarely—if ever—legally contested. The question that emerges, therefore, is whether the severance in the host Member State of the legal ties among the members of rainbow families, amounts to a breach of EU law. This article will focus on the parent–child relationship and will examine the above question by taking a child-centred approach: does the refusal of the host Member State to legally recognize the relationship between a child and one or both of his same-sex parents when the family moves to its territory amount to a breach of any of the rights that the child enjoys under EU law?
Ubiquitin Extension Protein UEP1 Modulates Cell Death and Resistance to Various Pathogens in Tobacco
Authors: Xu You-Ping , Zhao Yuan , Song Xiao-Yi , Ye Yun-Feng , Wang Ren-Gang , Wang Zi-Li , Ren Xue-Liang , Cai Xin-Zhong
Published: March 2019

Ubiquitin (Ub) extension proteins (UEPs) are fusion proteins of a Ub at the N terminus to a ribosomal protein. They are the main source of Ub and the only source of extension ribosomal protein. Although important roles of the Ub-26S proteasome system in various biological processes have been well established, direct evidence for the role of UEP genes in plant defense is rarely reported. In this study, we cloned a Ub-S27a-type UEP gene (NbUEP1) from Nicotiana benthamiana and demonstrated its function in cell death and disease resistance. Virus-induced gene silencing of NbUEP1 led to intensive cell death, culminating in whole-seedling withering. Transient RNA interference (RNAi) of NbUEP1 caused strong cell death in infiltrated areas, while stable NbUEP1-RNAi tobacco plants constitutively formed necrotic lesions in leaves. NbUEP1-RNAi plants exhibited increased resistance to the oomycete Pythium aphanidermatum and viruses Tobacco mosaic virus and Cucumber mosaic virus while displaying decreased resistance to the nematode Meloidogyne incognita compared with non-RNAi control plants. Transcription profiling analysis indicated that jasmonate and ethylene pathways, lipid metabolism, copper amine oxidase-mediated active species generation, glycine-rich proteins, vacuolar processing enzyme- and RD21-mediated cell death and defense regulation, and autophagy might be associated with NbUEP1-mediated cell death and resistance. Our results provided evidence for the important roles of plant UEPs in modulating plant cell death and disease resistance.
Retention of Nursing Students: An Integrative Review
Authors: Smith-Wacholz Heather C. , Wetmore Julia P. , Conway Cheryl , McCarley Melanie
Published: March 2019

AIM

The purpose of this integrative review is to identify ways to decrease student attrition in schools of nursing.

BACKGROUND

Many nursing students have anxiety, lack finances, face an absence of faculty or peer support, and have decreased overall satisfaction with the realities of nursing. This integrative review demonstrates that a significant percentage of nursing students leave school before completing their program.

METHOD

Manuscripts were selected for this study to evaluate effective interventions to increase retention rates for first-year nursing students. Seventeen studies met inclusion criteria.

RESULTS

Interventions to decrease attrition include effective teaching methods and styles; utilization of an advisor, clinical coach, or mentor; stress reduction; faculty support; students’ background; and perceptions of nursing.

CONCLUSION

Educators have the option of using several supportive measures to decrease attrition in nursing programs.
How Nurse Educators Perceive the Transition From the Traditional Classroom to the Online Environment: A Qualitative Inquiry
Authors: Sinacori Barbara C.
Published: March 2019

AIM

This study was conducted to explore the experiences of nurse educators who transitioned from traditional classroom to an online learning environment, either 100 percent online or in hybrid courses.

BACKGROUND

Online education is an effective way to reach students; however, online education requires a different pedagogy than the traditional classroom.

METHOD

Nurse educators who transitioned from traditional classroom to online environments (100 percent online or hybrid) were interviewed using 13 guided interview questions designed to explore the challenges experienced during the transition.

RESULTS

Challenges nurse educators experienced included a need for professional development for learning a new pedagogy and learning management system, technological support, mentorship in transitioning to the new mode of teaching, and a mind shift in teaching to a different pedagogy.

CONCLUSION

The results provide practical information for nurse educators who may be interested teaching online courses.
Academy of Oncologic Physical Therapy EDGE Task Force on Cancer: A Systematic Review of Outcome Measures for Pain in Children
Authors: Miale Susan , Harrington Shana , Brown Kristin , Braswell Ashley , Cannoy Jill , Krisch Nancy , Rock Kelly E.
Published: March 2019

Background:

Children with cancer can experience pain throughout their clinical course. Accurate assessment of pain can lead to more effective pain management.

Purpose:

To identify outcome measures used to assess pain in children and to appraise each tool based on psychometric properties, clinical utility, and application to pediatric oncology.

Methods:

The authors searched 3 electronic databases (MEDLINE, CINAHL, and SCOPUS), using specific search terms to identify measures used to evaluate pain in children with cancer. Of the 956 articles found, 270 were reviewed and 17 measures were identified for further assessment. Each outcome measure was reviewed by 2 independent reviewers, who then ranked each measure using the 4-point Cancer EDGE Task Force Outcome Measure Rating Scale. Discrepancies were discussed to reach consensus.

Results:

The Wong-Baker FACES Pain Rating Scale is highly recommended (4). The Oucher Pain Scale, Adolescent Pediatric Pain Tool, and Pieces of Hurt Assessment Tool/Poker Chip Tool are recommended (3). Six additional tools are deemed reasonable to use (2) and 7 tools are not recommended (1).

Conclusions:

Based on clinical utility, psychometric properties, and application to children with oncologic diseases, 4 outcome measures are recommended for the assessment of pain in children with a diagnosis of cancer.
Incorporating Physician Input Into a Maintenance of Certification Examination: A Content Validity Tool
Authors: Poniatowski Paul A. , Dugosh Jeremy W. , Baranowski Rebecca A. , Arnold Gerald , Lipner Rebecca S. , Dec George W. , Green Marianne M.
Published: March 2019

Purpose

As part of the American Board of Internal Medicine’s (ABIM’s) continuing effort to update its Maintenance of Certification (MOC) program, a content validity tool was used to conduct structured reviews of MOC exam blueprints (i.e., test specification tables) by the physician community. Results from the Cardiovascular Disease MOC blueprint review are presented to illustrate the process ABIM conducted for several internal medicine disciplines.

Method

Ratings of topic frequency and importance were collected from cardiologists in 2016 using a three-point scale (low, medium, high). The web-based survey instrument presented 188 blueprint topic descriptions, each combined with five patient-related tasks (e.g., diagnosis, treatment). Descriptive statistics and chi-square analysis were employed.

Results

Responses from 441 review participants were analyzed. Frequency and importance ratings were aggregated as a composite statistic representing clinical relevance, and exam assembly criteria were modified to select questions, or items, addressing clinically relevant content only. Specifically, ≥ 88% of exam items now address high-importance topics, including ≤ 15% on topics that are also low frequency; and ≤ 12% of exam items now address medium-importance topics, including ≤ 3% on topics that are also low frequency. The updated blueprint has been published for test takers and provides enhanced information on content that would and would not be tested in subsequent examinations. It is linked to more detailed feedback that examinees receive on items answered incorrectly.

Conclusions

The blueprint review garnered valuable feedback from the physician community and provided new evidence for the content validity of the Cardiovascular Disease MOC exam.
Respiratory Variation of Internal Carotid Artery Blood Flow Peak Velocity Measured by Transfontanelle Ultrasound to Predict Fluid Responsiveness in Infants
Authors: Kim Eun-Hee , Lee Ji-Hyun , Song In-Kyung , Kim Hee-Soo , Jang Young-Eun , Kim Jin-Tae
Published: March 2019

Editor’s Perspective

What We Already Know about This Topic

What This Article Tells Us That Is New

Background

Cranial sonography is a widely used point-of-care modality in infants. The authors evaluated that the respiratory variation of the internal carotid artery blood flow peak velocity as measured using transfontanelle ultrasound can predict fluid responsiveness in infants.

Methods

This prospective observational study included 30 infants undergoing cardiac surgery. Following closure of the sternum, before and after the administration of 10ml · kg–1 crystalloid, the respiratory variation of the aorta blood flow peak velocity, pulse pressure variation, and central venous pressure were obtained. The respiratory variation of the internal carotid artery blood flow peak velocity was measured using transfontanelle ultrasound. Response to fluid administration was defined as an increase in stroke volume index, as measured with transesophageal echocardiography, greater than 15% of baseline.

Results

Seventeen subjects (57%) were responders to volume expansion. Before fluid loading, the respiratory variation of the internal carotid artery and the aorta blood flow peak velocity (means ± SD) of the responders were 12.6 ± 3.3% and 16.0 ± 3.8%, and those of the nonresponders were 8.2 ± 3.2% and 10.9 ± 3.5%, respectively. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis showed that the respiratory variation of the internal carotid artery and the aorta blood flow peak velocity could predict fluid responsiveness; the area under the curve was 0.828 (P < 0.0001; 95% CI, 0.647 to 0.940) and 0.86 (P = 0.0001; 95% CI, 0.684 to 0.959), respectively. The cutoff values of the respiratory variation of the internal carotid artery and the aorta blood flow peak velocity were 7.8% (sensitivity, 94%; specificity, 69%) and 13% (sensitivity, 77%; specificity, 92%), respectively.

Conclusions

The respiratory variation of the internal carotid artery blood flow peak velocity as measured using transfontanelle ultrasound predicted an increase in stroke volume in response to fluid. Further research is required to establish any wider generalizability of the results.