bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
B
razilian
A
ssociation of
A
nthropology (
ABA
)
Authors: Simião Daniel
Published: September 2018

Founded in 1955, the Brazilian Association of Anthropology (ABA) has experienced a huge increase in membership since the turn of the twenty‐first century. In 2015 it had 1,400 active associates and more than 2,700 members. The ABA's history is strongly connected to transformations in the political and educational fields in Brazil, resembling their configurations and actively contributing to changing them. Since the 1980s, the ABA has enjoyed a strong presence in political fora, especially in discussions on cultural rights. It has also encouraged the field of professional practice in academia and public policy. With a strong connection with national and international scientific associations, the ABA is a founding member of the World Council of Anthropological Associations and keeps an active presence in the International Union of Anthropological and Ethnological Sciences. Since its creation, the ABA has promoted an important biennial congress in the social sciences in Brazil. It has published two online journals and edited more than fifty books in fifteen years.
Marriage
Authors: Parkin Robert
Published: September 2018

It not easy to define marriage in a universally appropriate manner. In the great majority of societies, however, it can be regarded as involving some cultural restriction on human sexual relations, perhaps restricting access for each individual to a limited number of other individuals—not always just one—or directing access toward specific categories of suitable spouses. At the same time, pre‐ and extramarital affairs need not be regarded as wrong and may be widely tolerated. Other aspects of marriage include prestations (bridewealth or bride‐price, dowry, bride service), exclusion/inclusion (exogamy, endogamy), status (hypergamy, hypogamy), and plural marriages (polygyny, polyandry, polygamy, sororate, levirate). Marriages are often restricted in terms of categories of kin and are often used to negotiate relations between the senior male kin of those actually getting married, further restricting the latter's choice. The Western ideal of marriage being based on romantic love is far from universal.
Religion, Materiality, and Fetishism
Authors: Sansi Roger
Published: September 2018

In recent decades, there has been a growing interest in materiality in the anthropology of religion as well as in anthropology more generally. This entry considers the materiality of religion through the particular prism of the polemical concept of fetishism. Discussions around the fetish and fetishism have touched on central issues of the materiality of religion: reification and value, personification and agency, territoriality and materiality in itself, hybridity and historicity, and ontology.
Public Anthropology
Authors: Borofsky Robert
Published: September 2018

This entry provides an overview of how public anthropology is perceived as well as how it might be said to differ from applied anthropology. The field not only involves engaging with public audiences beyond the discipline but also seeks to reshape anthropology to foster such engagement. In this regard, the entry discusses four goals: changing current standards of accountability, fostering greater transparency, changing the ethical focus to benefiting others, and finding ways to work with others beyond the discipline. It also offers some suggested ways public anthropologists might serve the common good: conceptualizing important issues, being effective at speaking truth to power, and writing narratives with impact.
Pastoralists
Authors: Bollig Michael
Published: September 2018

Pastoral communities exploit marginal arid, semiarid, circumpolar, and high‐altitude ecosystems by herding different livestock species and coping with the patchiness of biomass production by means of spatial mobility. Pastoral labor is geared toward facilitating the feeding and watering needs of different herd species; working on, trading, and marketing the products of livestock herds (milk, skins, meat); managing communal tenure systems and extensive exchange systems and defending access and property rights to pastures, wells, and livestock. The control of mobility and natural resource management has been contested between local pastoral communities and state agencies since colonial times. Nowadays conservation efforts present new challenges to be negotiated between pastoralists, states, and international organizations. Belief systems of pastoral communities have symbolically enshrined the role of cattle, transferring bovine terminologies and symbols to social relations and religious ideas.
Potlatch
Authors: High Holly
Published: September 2018

“Potlatch” is a term used by anthropologists to describe gift giving that is intended to enhance the status of the giver, and it often implies that the relationship between the giver and some or all of the recipients is agonistic or at least competitive. The term derives from Chinook jargon and describes occasions of feasting, dancing, and giving in the Pacific Northwest Coast of the Americas.
Visual Anthropology
Authors: Schäuble Michaela
Published: September 2018

Visual anthropology is a subfield of sociocultural anthropology that encompasses a set of research techniques and modes of representation that are (through production and analysis) concerned with all visible aspects of culture and society. As a research technique, it uses pictorial media as a means of exploring social phenomena and of accessing, evoking, and communicating anthropological knowledge—mainly through the media of ethnographic photographs and films and, since the mid‐1990s, new digital technologies. Furthermore, visual anthropology includes the study of pictorial manifestations of culture, ranging from nonverbal communication, ritual and performance, dance, and art to material culture.
Digital Anthropology
Authors: Aouragh Miriyam
Published: September 2018

This entry examines how the internet has shaped the development of an important subdiscipline occasionally termed “online anthropology,” “cyber‐anthropology,” or “anthropology 2.0” and now broadly known as “digital anthropology.” This subdiscipline considers the presence of the internet to be an organic part of culture and society. Transformations in everyday media and communication, such as the absence of physical proximity in virtual space, have changed our understanding of how time, place, and community are theoretically analyzed. The conceptual alterations have also called into question anthropology's close association with offline fieldwork and long‐term participant observation. The debates about these transformations did not emerge in a vacuum. This entry positions the emergence of internet‐related debates within intellectual antecedents in globalization studies. Closely related inquiries concern the limits of “online ethnography” and the changing meaning of “embeddedness,” which are assumed to affect methodological conditions. The second half of this entry offers insights into the ways in which non‐Western contexts can provide broader frameworks. The final part notes how the market‐oriented adoption of “digital skills” has implicated anthropology.
Empowerment and Community Participation
Authors: Kamruzzaman Palash , White Sarah C.
Published: September 2018

This entry reviews the troubled relationship between empowerment and community participation. It considers the history of each concept and some main areas of debate. It then reviews some typologies that seek to identify forms of participation that are and are not empowering, and discusses a series of critiques that suggest that either or both concepts have been deradicalized as they have moved nearer the center of development thinking. This theoretical discussion is then grounded in a brief review of some examples of participation in development practice. The entry closes by considering how the representation of and possibilities for participation and empowerment are shaped by the character of the development industry.
A
guirre
B
eltrán,
G
onzalo (1908–96)
Authors: Salmerón Fernando I.
Published: September 2018

Gonzalo Aguirre Beltrán was a leading figure in the design and implementation of indigenous policy in Mexico. He was guided by the idea that serious research had to be inspired by applied concerns and he played a vital role in Mexican anthropology as a leading figure in the applied anthropology movement and as a critic of narrowly academic perspectives.
Placebo
Authors: Eaves Emery R. , Ritenbaugh Cheryl
Published: September 2018

The anthropological study of placebo intersects with long‐standing interests in the symbolic efficacy of ritual or ritual behavior. Placebo studies in anthropology emphasize both cognitive meaning and embodied awareness as facilitators of the placebo effect. The placebo effect is commonly understood within anthropology as the body's ability to heal itself in response to an ostensibly inert substance or practice. Anthropologists argue that overemphasis on controlling for the placebo effect in biomedical research limits our understanding of human functioning, as the placebo is a potentially powerful but little understood healing mechanism.
Coloniality of Power
Authors: Restrepo Eduardo
Published: September 2018

Coloniality of power, a category elaborated by the Peruvian sociologist Aníbal Quijano, refers to the pattern of global power that emerges with the modern world system, which is associated with racial classification and has permitted the control and exploitation of the labor force, wealth, and territories throughout the planet for the sake of the emergence and consolidation of capitalism. This category has been nodal for a group of authors, mostly from Latin America, to develop a set of categories and conceptualizations that radically problematize the most common assumptions about modernity. They argue that coloniality is the constitutive dark side of modernity. This entry examines this group's elaboration of the category of coloniality of power, particularly those that refer to the decentering of modernity when colonial difference is taken into account.
World Anthropologies
Authors: Restrepo Eduardo
Published: September 2018

World anthropologies should be understood as a conceptualization centered on three main aspects. First, the conceptualization considers anthropologies in the plural rather than in the singular. Second, it focuses on anthropologists' concrete and situated practices rather than on normative and abstract definitions of anthropology. And third, it understands that differences between anthropologies are rooted in relations of power that operate at various scales (global, regional, national, local) and in practices that range from the predominance of certain languages and modes of argumentation to the configuration of particular subjectivities.
Policy, Anthropology and
Authors: Haines David W.
Published: September 2018

Anthropology has long been interwoven with policy. At the most general level, the entire discipline may be construed as a framework for policy, particularly because of its broad embrace of all peoples and of all disciplines, bridging the sciences, social sciences, and humanities. Anthropologists have long been involved in particular policy issues that impinge on areas of anthropological interest, especially when those areas are subject to policy that is particularly damaging (e.g., indigenous groups), volatile (e.g., migration), or unavoidable (e.g., education). Since the late 1990s, there has also been increasing attention to an anthropology of policy that aims less to influence or understand particular policies than to understand the people, the documents, the values, and the raw machinations of power that together constitute policy as an ever‐intensifying domain of thinking and action.
Clash of Civilizations, The, Anthropology and
Authors: MacFarlane Alan
Published: September 2018

Samuel P. Huntington's
The Clash of Civilizations: And the Remaking of World Order
(1996) is one of the most influential works on international relations since the 1990s. Although it has been criticized by many scholars, the implications of the work for anthropology have received comparatively little attention. This entry briefly outlines Huntington's argument about the inevitable nature of the international clashes and the difficulties of dealing with the erosion of identity through multiculturalism. Huntington's writing is narrowly focused on the United States, but his work and the controversies surrounding it present a more universal challenge to anthropology. His absence of interest in understanding civilizations other than his own American one should thus prompt anthropologists to go beyond his work. Yet the question is then how anthropologists are to scale up their work from villages and tribes to vast and ancient civilizations. This entry gives some suggestions on how we can do this and thereby bring about cultural understanding between different civilizations.
Death and Burial
Authors: Árnason Arnar
Published: September 2018

This entry discusses the anthropological study of death. It traces the history of this study from early engagements with funeral symbolism, through mourning and melancholia, to contemporary concerns with thanatology, biomedicine, organ harvesting, and euthanasia. The entry thus suggests that death continues to provide substance for the cutting edge of anthropology.
Gramsci,Antonio (1891–1937)
Authors: van Dommelen Peter
Published: September 2018

Antonio Gramsci was a political activist and cofounder of the Italian Communist Party, who died persecuted by Mussolini's fascist regime. He is best known for hisPrison Notebooks, which he wrote over the eleven years that he spent in fascist detention as a political prisoner. In numerous short essays, he developed his views about hegemony and resistance, which represent an early attempt to inject more social and cultural considerations about power and exploitation into classic Marxist thinking.
Family Firms
Authors: Yanagisako Sylvia J.
Published: September 2018

Family firms are enduring forms of capitalist enterprise and not an archaic, transient form that will inevitably be supplanted by nonfamily firms. Two key challenges to the comparative analysis of family firms are the absence of a standard definition of them and the dominance of theories of modernity and kinship that treat the family firm as an anomaly of contemporary capitalism. This view is rooted in Max Weber's model of the fundamental divide between modern capitalism and earlier forms of capitalism. Family firms are conceptually problematic not only for Weberian theories of modernity but also for Marx's theory of capitalism, which is rooted in the distinction between capital and labor. Where family members work alongside nonfamily employees and are paid wages or salaries rather than, or in addition to, receiving a share of the profits, they blur the boundary between employer and employee and, consequently, between capital and labor.
Religion and Emotion
Authors: Woodhead Linda
Published: September 2018

Scholarly interest in emotion in general and religious emotion in particular revived in the last quarter of the twentieth century, in anthropology as well as other disciplines. The revival has made it easier to appreciate the important place of religious emotion in the anthropological tradition as a whole, and the variety of approaches to the subject. Approaches can be differentiated according to the focus of their interest: in the social basis of religious emotion, in its individual expressions, or in its entanglements with symbolic and material objects. All three emphases can be found within the anthropological tradition in various forms and combinations. Reflections on religious emotion and power relations, and on religious emotion in societies shaped by the wider currents of global capitalism, offer additional avenues of exploration.
Industrial Workers
Authors: Kasmir Sharryn
Published: September 2018

For much of the twentieth century, the study of industrial workers was not central to the disciplinary project of anthropology. However, in the wake of the 1973 oil shock and world economic crisis, anthropologists increasingly undertook research in industrial settings. This turn coincided with the liberalization of national economies, new international trade agreements, and the movement of capital out of historic centers to new industrial zones in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. In this global context, several problems came to the fore: the decline of older industrial communities; the proletarianization of new workforces; national, racial, ethnic, and gender segmentation and inequality; the prevalence of precarious work; and debates about the future of class politics. The anthropology of industrial workers expanded disciplinary boundaries and engaged in cross‐disciplinary conversations with history, sociology, labor history, geography, and other fields.
Biological and Evolutionary Anthropology
Authors: Underdown Simon
Published: September 2018

Biological anthropology is a subject that draws from a remarkably diverse range of sciences to explore the biological aspects of humanity. However, it is unique in its focus on the interplay between biological and cultural adaptations. Similarly, many branches of science can be said to be “doing” biological anthropology today even if they don't use or recognize the word. This is perhaps the biggest difference between biological and social anthropology. This entry develops a taxonomic overview of the subject and explores the range of subdisciplines that contribute to biological anthropology, with some examples. It considers the historical development of the field before introducing key themes and foci. The relationship with social anthropology is examined in the context of what anthropology is and what anthropologists do. It concludes with a reflection on the current and futures direction of the subject and how emerging new techniques and ideas are transforming how biological is done, thought about, and perceived.
Gender and Land
Authors: McDonnell Siobhan
Published: September 2018

Maintaining adequate access to land is central to the livelihoods of many women in rural areas. Gender has important implications for rights over access to and use of land. Scholarship on the implications of gender for land access has, since the 1970s, focused on five aspects: human‐rights‐based approaches; critiques of “land reforms” and structural adjustment programs that have disadvantaged women; legal pluralism and the management of land disputes through customary and state‐based courts; the implications of matrilineal landholding arrangements for women's access to land; and, most recently, the gendered implications of large‐scale land transformations.
Mountain Environments
Authors: Campbell Ben
Published: September 2018

Altitude, aspect, precipitation, and soil structure create diversity in conditions of life in mountain ranges, and this diversity is characterized by zones of ecological and social adaptation. Languages and dialects also proliferate when it takes several days to cross over ridges from one valley to another. Political systems, armies, and infrastructures run out of steam when faced with uphill struggles to maintain chains of communication. As a result, mountain regions are places where autonomous governance of civic life and natural resources have developed significant institutional resilience against external interventions.
Gender, Psychoanalytic Theories of
Authors: Pardy Maree
Published: September 2018

Psychoanalysis posits gender, sexuality, and sexual desire as effects of the prohibitions related to the incest taboo and kinship. Unlike functionalist and structural approaches that understand gender as the social and cultural elaboration of biology, psychoanalysis focuses on kinship as the site of the Oedipus complex that institutes gender through desire. Freud's insistence on the universality of this theory has drawn the ire of feminists; its foreclosure of sexualities has troubled queer theorists; and its universal model of psychosexual structures and its imperviousness to cultural variation have intrigued and bothered anthropologists. In a post‐Freudian world, however, anthropologists have used psychoanalysis to plumb the relations between self, society, and power. Feminist and queer anthropologists consider how the psyche, body, and history co‐constitute sexed beings. Exploring the role of fantasy, desire, and imaginaries, they examine how cultural norms are accepted and reproduced, and emphasize the mutual dependence of inner and sociocultural worlds.
Gender and Personhood (Individual, Dividual)
Authors: Jolly Margaret
Published: September 2018

Many founding fathers of Western scholarship plotted differences between notions of the person in non‐Western and Western contexts, between those persons more embedded in collectivities and cultures and the more individuated and autonomous persons of “civilized” European societies. Moreover, they often envisaged a progress from one to the other in the march of modernity. The early anthropology of Oceania was a crucial part of such global discussions in works by Marcel Mauss and Maurice Leenhardt. Subsequently Marilyn Strathern connected divergent models of the person with an analysis of gender. Grounded in the ethnography of Papua New Guinea, she developed an innovative theoretical perspective that had broad influence within anthropology and beyond.
Recent Progress in Graphene‐Based Noble‐Metal Nanocomposites for Electrocatalytic Applications
Authors: Liu Jiawei , Ma Qinglang , Huang Zhiqi , Liu Guigao , Zhang Hua
Published: September 2018

The fast industrialization process has led to global challenges in the energy crisis and environmental pollution, which might be solved with clean and renewable energy. Highly efficient electrochemical systems for clean‐energy collection require high‐performance electrocatalysts, including Au, Pt, Pd, Ru, etc. Graphene, a single‐layer 2D carbon nanosheet, possesses many intriguing properties, and has attracted tremendous research attention. Specifically, graphene and graphene derivatives have been utilized as templates for the synthesis of various noble‐metal nanocomposites, showing excellent performance in electrocatalytic‐energy‐conversion applications, such as the hydrogen evolution reaction and CO2 reduction. Herein, the recent progress in graphene‐based noble‐metal nanocomposites is summarized, focusing on their synthetic methods and electrocatalytic applications. Furthermore, some personal insights on the challenges and possible future work in this research field are proposed.
Recent Advances in Catalytic Asymmetric Synthesis of Tertiary Alcohols via Nucleophilic Addition to Ketones
Authors: Liu Yun‐Lin , Lin Xiao‐Tong
Published: September 2018

Chiral tertiary alcohols are an important class of organic compounds which have found wide applications in both academia and industry. Therefore, various synthetic strategies towards these compounds have already been developed. Among them, the catalytic asymmetric addition of carbon nucleophiles to ketones is the most desirable route owing to its straightforwardness as well as its economic, efficient and versatile advantages. This review summarizes and discusses the recent achievements in this field classified according to the reaction types. Special attention is paid to the mechanisms, advantages and limitations of each reaction. In addition, the applications of these catalytic processes in the synthesis of related natural products, pharmaceuticals or their analogues are briefly discussed as well.

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Different Degrees of Electron Delocalization in Mixed Valence Ru‐Ru‐Ru Compounds by Cyanido‐/Isocyanido‐Bridge Isomerism
Authors: Yang Yu‐Ying , Zhu Xiao‐Quan , Hu Sheng‐Min , Su Shao‐Dong , Zhang Lin‐Tao , Wen Yue‐Hong , Wu Xin‐Tao , Sheng Tian‐Lu
Published: September 2018

The two stable pairs of trimetallic compounds trans‐[Cp*(dppe)Ru(μ‐NC)Ru(dmap)4(μ‐CN)Ru(dppe)Cp*][PF6]n (1[PF6]n, n=2, 3; Cp*=1,2,3,4,5‐pentamethylcyclopentadiene; dppe=1,2‐bis‐(diphenylphosphino)ethane; dmap= 4‐dimethylaminopyridine) and trans‐[Cp*(dppe)Ru(μ‐CN)Ru(dmap)4(μ‐NC)Ru(dppe)Cp*][PF6]n (2[PF6]n, n=2, 3), which demonstrate cyanide/isocyanide isomerism, have been synthesized and fully characterized. 13+[PF6]3 and 23+[PF6]3 are the one‐electron oxidation products of 12+[PF6]2 and 22+[PF6]2, respectively. The results suggest that 1[PF6]3 is a class III mixed valence compound, whereas 2[PF6]3 might be an unusually symmetrical class II–III mixed valence compound composed of the two asymmetrical delocalized RuIII−NC−RuII mixed valence subunits.
MIL‐101(Fe) hexagonal microspindle as a highly efficient, reusable and versatile catalyst for benzo‐fused heterocyclic nucleus synthesis
Authors: Karimian Ramin , Davarpanah Seyed Javad
Published: September 2018

A highly reusable, efficient and versatile MIL‐101(Fe) catalyst was prepared and characterized using various techniques including Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X‐ray diffraction, field emission scanning electron microscopy and energy‐dispersive X‐ray spectroscopy. This heterogeneous catalyst demonstrated a promising activity for condensation/cyclization reactions of various aryl aldehydes with 1,2‐phenylenediamine or 2‐aminothiophenol. The corresponding benzo‐fused heterocyclic products were generated in good to excellent yields under mild conditions in the presence of the catalyst. In addition, the catalyst can be easily separated and reused in eight consecutive runs with consistent catalytic activity.
Synthesis of a novel biphenyl epoxy resin and its hybrid composite with high thermal conductivity
Authors: Na T. , Che S. , Sun Y. , Liu X. , Hao J. , Zhao C.
Published: September 2018

A novel biphenyl epoxy monomer of p‐methyl phenylhydroquinone epoxy resin (p‐MEP) was synthesized and characterized. We researched its potential in the area of thermal conduction application and prepared a series of hybrid composites based on it with different mass ratios of sphere Al2O3 filler. From the good mobility and low viscosity of p‐MEP, it allowed mixing with more Al2O3 fillers. The hybrid epoxy resins owned the advantages of traditional epoxy resins as well as quite considerable thermal conductivity. Therefore, the hybrid composite at the maximum mass fraction of 70% possess the highest thermal conductivity of 5.6 W mK−1, which is 5.6 times higher than that of pristine p‐MEP (0.1 W mK−1). © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2019, 136, 47078.
Photodynamic Therapy Based on Nanoscale Metal–Organic Frameworks: From Material Design to Cancer Nanotherapeutics
Authors: Guan Qun , Li Yan‐An , Li Wen‐Yan , Dong Yu‐Bin
Published: September 2018

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a highly effective, noninvasive, highly selective method for cancer treatment. Nanoscale metal–organic frameworks (NMOFs) are a type of crystalline hybrid material composed of metal centers and organic linkers. Owing to their adjustable structure, easy modification, permanent pores, and good biocompatibility, NMOFs, as either nanophotosensitizers or photosensitizer nanocarriers, have been used in PDT. In this article, we summarize the recent progress in MOF‐based nanomaterials for tumor PDT. The MOF‐based nanomaterials might open up new avenues for the fabrication of new types of photosensitizers for PDT.
Systematic analysis of genetic variants in patients with essential tremor
Authors: Yuan Lamei , Deng Xiong , Song Zhi , Deng Sheng , Zheng Wen , Mao Ping , Deng Hao
Published: September 2018

Background

Essential tremor (ET), a prevalent neurological disorder, is featured by postural and kinetic tremors in upper limbs. Studies of twins and families indicate an important role for genetic factors in ET development. There are substantial overlaps between ET and Parkinson's disease (PD). The aim of this study was to examine the possible roles of genetic variants in ET development.

Methods

A total of 200 Han Chinese ET patients and 432 ethnically matched normal controls were enrolled, and genetic analysis of 23 variants in 15 genes was performed.

Results

Genotypic and allelic frequencies of the melanocortin 1 receptor gene (MC1R) variant rs34090186 showed statistically significant differences in ET patients and controls (p = 0.027 and 0.028, odds ratio = 2.789 and 2.744, 95% confidence interval: 1.084–7.179 and 1.075–7.005). No statistically significant difference was revealed in either genotypic or allelic distributions of other variants or haplotypes (all p > 0.05).

Conclusions

The discrepancies found in this study indicate the variant rs34090186 in the MC1R gene, some variants of which were reported to be related to increased risk of PD and melanoma, may play a risk role in ET, confirming a potential association between ET and PD. Evidence supporting ET‐PD link will continue to accumulate and improve our understanding of any underlying mechanisms for both disorders.
Bleomycin‐induced pulmonary toxicity and treatment with infliximab: A case report
Authors: Ge Victor , Banakh Iouri , Tiruvoipati Ravindranath , Haji Kavi
Published: September 2018

Key Clinical Message

Given the current understanding of bleomycin‐induced pneumonitis (BIP), the use of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF‐α) inhibitors such as infliximab for late‐stage disease appears to be of limited benefit. Further research regarding prevention and management of advanced BIP is required.
Synthesis of Trifluoromethyl‐α,β‐unsaturated Lactones and Pyrazolinones and Discovery of Influenza Virus Polymerase Inhibitors
Authors: Mizuta Satoshi , Makau Juliann Nzembi , Kitagawa Ayako , Kitamura Kanami , Otaki Hiroki , Nishi Kodai , Watanabe Ken
Published: September 2018

To explore the potential biological activities of trifluoromethyl heterocycles, we recently developed a synthetic approach to access a series of α‐trifluoromethyl‐α,β‐unsaturated lactones and trifluoromethyl pyrazolinones. The compounds were tested for their antimicrobial activity, and we found that some compounds had anti‐influenza viral activity. The β‐aryl‐α‐trifluoromethyl α,β‐unsaturated lactone derivatives 5 g (5‐(4‐chlorophenyl)‐5‐methyl‐4‐phenyl‐3‐(trifluoromethyl)furan‐2‐one), 7 b (4‐(4‐methoxyphenyl)‐3‐(trifluoromethyl)spiro[furan‐5,1′‐indane]‐2‐one), and the trifluoromethyl pyrazolinone 12 c (1‐(6‐methoxy‐2‐naphthyl)‐2‐(trifluoromethyl)‐5,6,7,8‐tetrahydropyrazolo[1,2‐a]pyridazin‐3‐one) were found to possess promising inhibitory activity against influenza virus type A, strain A/WSN/33 (H1N1). These three hit compounds were successfully optimized, and we identified that the most potent compound 5 h (5‐(4‐chlorophenyl)‐4‐(6‐methoxy‐2‐naphthyl)‐5‐methyl‐3‐(trifluoromethyl)furan‐2‐one) showed inhibitory activity against various types of influenza A and B viruses in the low‐micromolar range without showing cytotoxicity. Moreover, 5 h was more effective against the clinical isolate A/California/7/2009 (H1N1pdm) strain than the influenza viral polymerase inhibitor, favipiravir (T‐705). We also delineated the structure–activity relationship and obtained mechanistic insight into inhibition of the viral polymerase.
Permanent wettability of a novel, nanoengineered, clinically available, hyaluronan‐coated dental implant
Authors: Morra Marco , Cassinelli Clara , Torre Elisa , Iviglia Giorgio
Published: September 2018

The objectives of this study are to evaluate long‐term wettability of novel surface‐engineered, clinically available dental implants, featuring a surface nanolayer of covalently linked hyaluronan, and to confirm the relationships between wetting properties and surface nanostructure and microstructure. Wettability measurements were performed on clinically available hyaluronan‐coated Grade 4 titanium implants, packaged and sterile, that is, in the “on the shelf” condition, after 1 year from production. Wetting properties were measured by the Wilhelmy plate method. Analysis of the surface structure and chemistry was perfomed by X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy‐dispersive X‐ray (EDX) analysis, atomic force microscopy (AFM), and ζ‐potential measurement, either on implants or disks or plates subjected to the same surface‐engineering process. Results show that hydrophilicity and ensuing capillary rise of the hyaluronan‐coated implant surface is unaffected by aging and dry storage. Chemical analysis of the implant surface by XPS and evaluation of the ζ potential indicate that hyaluronan chemistry and not that of titanium dictates interfacial properties. Comparison between XPS versus EDX and SEM versus AFM data confirm that the thickness of the hyaluronan surface layer is within the nanometer range. Data show that nanoengineering of the implant surface by linking of the hydrophilic hyaluronan molecule endows tested titanium implants by permanent wettability, without need of wet storage as presently performed to keep long‐term hydrophilic implant surfaces. From an analytical point of view, the introduction in routine clinical practice of nanoengineered implant surfaces requires upgrading of analytical methods to the nanoscale.
Estimation of satellite‐derived regional photovoltaic power generation using a satellite‐estimated solar radiation data
Authors: Ohtake Hideaki , Uno Fumichika , Oozeki Takashi , Yamada Yoshinori , Takenaka Hideaki , Nakajima Takashi Y.
Published: September 2018

A large number of photovoltaic (PV) power systems have been adopted in Japan after a feed‐in tariff was introduced in 2012. However, PV power generation data from residential rooftop and/or ground‐mounted PV systems, and larger MW‐size PV plants have not been measured accurately in real‐time. This is because PV power monitoring instruments (eg, smart meters) have not collected a sufficient amount of power generation data. In order to realize adequate safety control of electric power systems under high PV‐penetration conditions, it is important to fully understand the temporal and spatial variations associated with PV power generation. In this study, we estimated the PV power generation for a regional area (ie, prefecture or municipality) in terms of PV power installation capacity and satellite‐estimated solar irradiance using a Japanese geostationary satellite, Himawari‐8. The satellite‐derived regionally integrated PV power estimations were validated with reference data provided by electric power companies. The validation results showed that these estimations were comparable to the reference data, provided by the Kyushu Electric Power Company Inc. (Kyushu) and the Tokyo Electric Power Company Inc. (TEPCO). However, the results also identified slight overestimations of PV power in the spring and summer seasons. An advantage of the proposed method is that it does not require land‐based monitoring instruments, which can lead to increased operational cost savings for PV power systems. Furthermore, in consideration of future PV power penetration scenarios, it is suggested that PV power in excess of regional power demands could be generated under the same weather conditions.
A Rare Nonsense Mutation in the Glucokinase Regulator Gene Is Associated With a Rapidly Progressive Clinical Form of Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis
Authors: Pirola Carlos J. , Flichman Diego , Dopazo Hernán , Fernández Gianotti Tomas , San Martino Julio , Rohr Cristian , Garaycoechea Martin , Gazzi Carla , Castaño Gustavo O. , Sookoian Silvia
Published: September 2018

We report on the presence of a rare nonsense mutation (rs149847328, p.Arg227Ter) in the glucokinase regulator (GCKR) gene in an adult patient with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), morbid obesity, and type 2 diabetes; this patient developed a progressive histological form of the disease. Analysis of paired (5 years apart) liver biopsies (at baseline and follow‐up) showed progression of simple steatosis to severe nonalcoholic steatohepatitis and cirrhosis. Study design involved an initial exploration that consisted of deep sequencing of 14 chromosomal regions in 96 individuals (64 of whom were patients with NAFLD who were diagnosed by liver biopsy that showed the full spectrum of histological severity). We further performed a replication study to explore the presence of rs149847328 that included a sample of 517 unrelated individuals in a case‐control study (n = 390), including patients who were morbidly obese (n = 127). Exploration of sequence variation by next‐generation sequencing of exons, exon–intron boundaries, and 5′ and 3′ untranslated regions of 14 genomic loci that encode metabolic enzymes of the tricarboxylic acid cycle revealed the presence of heterozygosity for the p.Arg227Ter mutation, the frequency of which is 0.0003963 (4:10,000; Exome Aggregation Consortium database). GCKR protein expression was markedly decreased in the liver of the affected patient compared with patients with NAFLD who carry the wild‐type allele. Sequencing of the same 14 genomic loci in 95 individuals failed to reveal the rare mutation. The rarity of p.Arg227Ter was confirmed in a more extensive screening. Conclusion: While rare variants/mutations are difficult to detect in even reasonably large samples (frequency of the mutant allele of p.Arg227Ter was ~1:1,000 in our data set), the presence of this mutation should be suspected as potentially associated with NAFLD, particularly in young adults at the extreme of histological phenotypes. Hepatology Communications 2018;2:1030‐1036)
Improvement of renal function estimation equations for elderly Japanese people
Authors: Kaburaki Soyoko , Yoshimura Eri , Kojima Nozomi , Ueno Hidefumi , Sugawara Mitsuru , Takekuma Yoh
Published: September 2018

Background and aim

The Cockcroft‐Gault (C‐G) equation for estimation of creatinine clearance (CCr) is still used in a clinical setting for drug dosage adjustment. Because differences between measured and estimated CCr values have been reported, particularly for Japanese elderly people, the aim of this study was to improve the accuracy of CCr estimation equations, such as C‐G and Orita‐Horio, by fitting to newly obtained data. Also, glomerular filtration rate (GFR) estimation equations, such as the Modification of Diet in Renal Disease (MDRD), the Chronic Kidney Disease Epidemiology Collaboration (CKD‐EPI), and the eGFR equation for Japanese people, were studied to compare with measured CCr.

Method

Data from 313 subjects over the age of 40 years with laboratory data available were used for analysis in this study. Special attention was paid to elderly people, and approximately 70% of the subjects were over the age of 65 years.

Results

The accuracy of estimation by the two conventional (C‐G, Orita‐Horio) CCr estimation equations was greatly improved by introducing adjusted body weight for which the degree of obesity is over 30% instead of measured body weight. By fitting the coefficients of the estimation equations to the present population, the mean error was reduced by almost half, particularly for people over the age of 75. Although all the values calculated by the GFR estimation equations were underestimated compared with measured CCr due to secretion, a coefficient of determination of above 0.65 was obtained for all GFR estimation equations.

Conclusions

Improvement of the fitted CCr estimation equations suggests that reconstruction of renal function estimation equations is required, especially for old people. Further work is required to find optimal renal function (CCr and/or GFR) estimation equations for drug dosage adjustment.
Consumption of red and processed meat and breast cancer incidence: A systematic review and meta‐analysis of prospective studies
Authors: Farvid Maryam S. , Stern Mariana C. , Norat Teresa , Sasazuki Shizuka , Vineis Paolo , Weijenberg Matty P. , Wolk Alicja , Wu Kana , Stewart Bernard W. , Cho Eunyoung
Published: September 2018

Prior studies on red and processed meat consumption with breast cancer risk have generated inconsistent results. We performed a systematic review and meta‐analysis of prospective studies to summarize the evidence regarding the relation of red meat and processed meat consumption with breast cancer incidence. We searched in MEDLINE and EMBASE databases through January 2018 for prospective studies that reported the association between red meat and processed meat consumption with incident breast cancer. The multivariable‐adjusted relative risk (RR) was combined comparing the highest with the lowest category of red meat (unprocessed) and processed meat consumption using a random‐effect meta‐analysis. We identified 13 cohort, 3 nested case–control and two clinical trial studies. Comparing the highest to the lowest category, red meat (unprocessed) consumption was associated with a 6% higher breast cancer risk (pooled RR,1.06; 95% confidence intervals (95%CI):0.99–1.14; I2 = 56.3%), and processed meat consumption was associated with a 9% higher breast cancer risk (pooled RR, 1.09; 95%CI, 1.03–1.16; I2 = 44.4%). In addition, we identified two nested case–control studies evaluating the association between red meat and breast cancer stratified by N‐acetyltransferase 2 acetylator genotype. We did not observe any association among those with either fast (per 25 g/day pooled odds ratio (OR), 1.18; 95%CI, 0.93–1.50) or slow N‐acetyltransferase 2 acetylators (per 25 g/day pooled OR, 0.99; 95%CI, 0.91–1.08). In the prospective observational studies, high processed meat consumption was associated with increased breast cancer risk.
Urinary cell‐free microRNA biomarker could discriminate bladder cancer from benign hematuria
Authors: Piao Xuan‐Mei , Jeong Pildu , Kim Ye‐Hwan , Byun Young Joon , Xu Yanjie , Kang Ho Won , Ha Yun‐Sok , Kim Won Tae , Lee Jong‐Young , Woo Seung Hwo , Kwon Tae Gyun , Kim Isaac Y. , Moon Sung‐Kwon , Choi Yung Hyun , Cha Eun‐Jong , Yun Seok Joong , Kim Wun‐Jae
Published: September 2018

The most common symptom of bladder cancer (BC) is hematuria. However, not all patients with hematuria are diagnosed with BC. Here, we explored a novel method to discriminate BC from hematuria under nonmalignant conditions by measuring differences in urinary cell‐free microRNA (miRNA) expression between patients with BC and those with hematuria. A multicenter study was performed using 543 urine samples obtained from the National Biobank of Korea, including 326 BC, 174 hematuria and 43 pyuria without cancer. The urinary miR‐6124 to miR‐4511 ratio was considerably higher in BC than in hematuria or pyuria, and enabled the discrimination of BC from patients with hematuria at a sensitivity of >90% (p < 0.001). Conclusively, the proposed noninvasive diagnostic tool based on the expression ratio of urinary cell‐free miR‐6124 to miR‐4511 can reduce unnecessary cystoscopies in patients with hematuria undergoing evaluation for BC, with a minimal loss in sensitivity for detecting cancer.
Perception and knowledge of early pregnancy assessment units among perinatal practitioners in Europe
Authors: Blavier Frédéric , Cosyns Stefan , Dony Noëlie , Faron Gilles , Parra José , Gucciardo Leonardo
Published: September 2018

Objective

To investigate perceptions of early pregnancy assessment units (EPAUs) among perinatal practitioners working in Belgium, France, and Switzerland.

Methods

A prospective multinational survey was conducted between September 1, 2015, and May 21, 2016. Obstetricians, gynecologists, medical doctors, radiologists, and midwives were recruited during meetings, via e‐mail invitations, or through the websites of regional obstetrics and gynecology scientific societies. The survey comprised 17 questions that assessed the participants’ knowledge, interest, and management of early pregnancy.

Results

Of the 871 individuals invited to participate in the survey, 306 (35.1%) responded. Most of the participants were gynecologists and/or obstetricians (225 [73.5%]). A total of 258 (84.3%) participants had no or limited knowledge about EPAUs. Furthermore, 211 (69.0%) participants reported incorrect management when they visualized a gestational sac without embryo and 265 (86.6%) misinterpreted changes in serum levels of chorionic gonadotropin during early pregnancy. In all, 201 (65.7%) participants were interested in collaboration with an EPAU; however, only 125 (40.8%) had sufficient time and resources available to support a patient's psychological distress after early pregnancy loss or salpingectomy.

Conclusion

Knowledge about early management of pregnancy was limited among the perinatal practitioners surveyed; however, the concept of EPAUs was welcomed by many.
Trends in Biobased Chemistry
Authors: Smith Patrick B.
Published: September 2018

The chemical industry has been based almost exclusively on fossil feedstocks for nearly a century, but biobased feedstocks are becoming economically competitive for certain materials and geographies. Fossil feedstocks are projected to continue to be abundant and relatively inexpensive for the foreseeable future in the USA. Therefore, the commercialization of biobased chemicals and materials will need to proceed with a strategic business discipline within this context. Commercial strategies which target conventional or “incumbent” chemicals and materials have lower financial risks associated with them and a significantly shorter time to market.
Using historical normals to improve modern monthly climate normal surfaces for Madagascar
Authors: Stalenberg Eleanor , Hutchinson Michael F. , Foley William J.
Published: September 2018

High‐resolution, spatially continuous climate models are an essential first step in assessing fine‐scale impacts of climate and projected future climates. Observational weather station networks supporting such models are often inadequate and are spread unevenly throughout the globe, particularly in developing regions such as Madagascar, since network establishment and maintenance requires significant investment. Quality climate models are greatly needed for the assessment of conservation, agricultural productivity and socio‐economic studies of climate vulnerability.

With the aim of generating improved modern climate normal surfaces for Madagascar, we have developed a method for augmenting the existing sparse climate normal network with spatial patterns of climate change derived from more densely distributed historical climate normals. Thin plate smoothing splines and kriging were applied to the spatial analysis of the climate difference patterns and their performances were compared.

We found that the augmented data improved the spatial consistency of the climate interpolations when compared with the interpolations using only the existing observed data. Our analysis confirmed the robustness and accuracy of thin plate spline interpolation when applied to long‐term differences in climate normals. Further, the investigation indicated that long‐term differences in rainfall normals have broader spatial coherence and are less susceptible to local differences when compared to temperature normals. This suggests that long term change patterns in rainfall are better supported by sparse data networks, despite the usually acknowledged greater inherent spatial and temporal variability of rainfall.

The augmented data capture distinct spatial patterns in temperature and rainfall that differ markedly from the patterns in interpolations of observed data alone. The derived change patterns are consistent with observed global trends. This technique might be used to improve understanding of the current climate in other data‐poor regions and the outputs used in spatial environmental and socio‐economic studies, such as species distribution mapping and climate change resilience mapping.