bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide ameliorates vascular dysfunction induced by hyperglycaemia
Authors: Solymar Margit , Ivic Ivan , Balasko Marta , Fulop Balazs D , Toth Gabor , Tamas Andrea , Reman Gyongyver , Koller Akos , Reglodi Dora
Published: February 2018

Background:

Short-lasting hyperglycaemia occurs frequently in prediabetes and poorly controlled diabetes mellitus leading to vascular damage. Pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide (PACAP) has been shown to play a protective role in vascular complications of diabetes; moreover, antioxidant effects of PACAP were also described. Therefore, we hypothesized that PACAP exerts protective effects in short-term hyperglycaemia-induced vascular dysfunctions.

Methods:

After short-term hyperglycaemia, acetylcholine-induced and sodium nitroprusside–induced vascular relaxation of mouse carotid arteries were tested with a myograph with or without the presence of PACAP or superoxide dismutase. Potential direct antioxidant superoxide-scavenging action of pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating peptide was tested with pyrogallol autoxidation assay; furthermore, the effect of pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating peptide or superoxide dismutase was investigated on hyperglycaemia-associated vascular markers.

Results:

PACAP administration resulted in reduced endothelial dysfunction after a 1-h hyperglycaemic episode. PACAP was able to restore acetylcholine-induced relaxation of the vessels and improved sodium nitroprusside–induced relaxation. This effect was comparable to the protective effect of superoxide dismutase, but PACAP was unable to directly scavenge superoxide produced by autoxidation of pyrogallol. Endothelial dysfunction was associated with elevated levels of fibroblast growth factor basic, matrix metalloproteinase 9 and nephroblastoma overexpressed gene proteins. Their release was reduced by PACAP administration.

Conclusion:

These results suggest a strong protective role of PACAP in the vascular complications of diabetes.
Paratonia in Flemish Nursing Homes: Current State of Practice
Authors: Van Deun Bieke , Van den Noortgate Nele , Cinthia Saucedo , Van Bladel Anke , Dirk Cambier
Published: February 2018

Background:

Paratonia is a major underlying motor problem impeding functionality and locomotion in dementia. Despite its undeniable impact on patient’s quality of life and daily care, there is a lack of evidence-based therapy on patients with this condition.

Methods:

We surveyed physiotherapists working in nursing homes in Flanders (Belgium) concerning the use and perceived effect of therapeutic strategies and positioning methods/aids.

Results:

Positioning and soft passive mobilization were the most applied and positively appraised therapeutic interventions. Highest ratings for positioning were found for C-shaped positioning cushions and multi-position wheelchair. According to the respondents, key points for paratonia approach were relaxation, positioning, active movement stimulation, and—to some extent—passive mobilization. Indispensable for any success however is multidisciplinary cooperation.

Conclusion:

These findings might provide an inspirational path for research to verify possible (evidence based) beneficial treatments that could be applied to improve current and future treatment of patients with paratonia.
SREBP2 contributes to cisplatin resistance in ovarian cancer cells
Authors: Zheng Lei , Li Li , Lu Yun , Jiang Fangfang , Yang Xiu-An
Published: February 2018

This study is to investigate transcription factors involved in cisplatin resistance in ovarian cancer cells. The transcriptome of cisplatin resistant and sensitive A2780 epithelial ovarian cancer cells was obtained from GSE15372. Ovarian transcriptome data GSE62944 was downloaded from TCGA and applied for transcription regulatory network analysis. The analysis results were confirmed using quantitative polymerase chain reaction. The roles of SREBP2 in cisplatin-resistant cells were investigated by RNA inference and cell viability analysis. Transcription regulatory network analysis found that 12 transcription factors and their targets were involved in cisplatin resistant in A2780 cells. Among these factors, the targets of EZH2 and SREBP2 revealed by Transcriptional Regulatory Relationships Unraveled by Sentence-based Text mining were also enriched in differentially expressed genes between cisplatin resistant and cisplatin sensitive cells. Their targets were enriched mainly in cell cycle and cholesterol metabolic process, respectively. Bioinformatic analysis illustrated three known targets of SREBP2, namely LDLR, FDFT1, and HMGCR were increased in A2780-resistant cell lines. Additionally, the three genes and SREBP2 were also elevated in live cells after cisplatin treatment via quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Importantly, RNA inference of SREBP2 in A2780 cell line resulted in a decrease of cell viability after cisplatin treatment. SREBP2 played important roles in cisplatin resistance and cholesterol metabolic process might be a novel target for cancer therapy.

Impact statement

Transcriptome of cisplatin resistant and sensitive A2780 epithelial ovarian cancer cells was obtained from GSE15372 and TCGA. Twelve transcription factors and their targets were involved in cisplatin resistant. Among these factors, the targets of EZH2 and SREBP2 revealed by Transcriptional Regulatory Relationships Unraveled by Sentence-based Text mining were also enriched in differentially expressed genes. Their targets were enriched mainly in cell cycle and cholesterol metabolic process. Three targets of SREBP2, namely LDLR, FDFT1, and HMGCR were increased in A2780-resistant cell lines and were found elevated in live cells after cisplatin treatment via qPCR. RNAi of SREBP2 in A2780 cell line resulted in a decrease of cell viability after cisplatin treatment. SREBP2 played important roles in cisplatin resistance and might be a novel target for cancer therapy.
Hybrid approach with endovascular and open surgical techniques for challenging aneurysms
Authors: Parizh David , Rizvi Syed Ali Raza , Ascher Enrico , Hingorani Anil
Published: February 2018

This study is a case series describing the management of complex aneurysmal disease using the principles of both open and endovascular techniques.
Patient expertise: Contested territory in the realm of long-term condition care
Authors: Francis Helen , Carryer Jenny , Wilkinson Jill
Published: February 2018

Objectives

The aim of this study was to describe the experience of people with multiple long-term conditions with particular reference to the notion of the ‘expert patient’ in the context of self-management.

Methods

A multiple case study of 16 people with several long-term conditions, included interviews and contacts over an 18-month period and an interview with their primary care clinicians. Analysis included both case-by-case and some cross-case analysis.

Results

The findings reveal the patient participants had little capacity to exercise the agency necessary be an expert patient as premised. Weariness, shame, expertise, issues of compliance and control and collaboration are contested areas underpinning clinician encounters.

Discussion

Patient expertise is at the heart of self-management approaches but the findings surfaced several inherent contradictions between the idealised expert patient and their position within a health care system that is entrenched in biomedicine.

Conclusion

There is a mismatch between how the self-management approach has been operationalised and what the participants who have multiple LTCs reveal as what they want and need. The research concludes that the self-management approach is inappropriate for people with multiple LTCs and that other ways of offering care should be considered.
Radial shaft fracture obliquity as a predictor of distal radioulnar joint instability
Authors: Ding Benjamin T. K. , Pillay Kaamini , Sechachalam Sreedharan
Published: February 2018

We assessed whether radial shaft fracture obliquity measurements on radiographs could predict intra-operative distal radioulnar joint instability. We also clinically validated previously described predictors of distal radioulnar joint instability, which included a fracture line within 7.5 cm of the lunate fossa, radial shortening >5 mm, and ulna styloid fracture. We retrospectively analysed the radiographs of all surgically managed patients in our unit with radial shaft fractures from 2006 through 2016. The degree of obliquity was analysed on the basis of the maximum fracture-line angle in either the coronal or the sagittal plane. A radial shaft fracture obliquity >30° is predictive of distal radioulnar joint instability ( P = 0.001). Radial fracture shaft obliquity >30° was the most sensitive radiological parameter (76%) for predicting distal radioulnar joint instability. Oblique radial shaft fractures appear to be associated with increased incidence of distal radioulnar joint instability. This radiologic parameter may be used together with established parameters in predicting distal radioulnar joint instability for surgical treatment.

Level of evidence: III
Evolving Treatment Patterns of NFL Players by Orthopaedic Team Physicians Over the Past Decade, 2008-2016
Authors: Schrock John B. , Carver Trevor J. , Kraeutler Matthew J. , McCarty Eric C.
Published: February 2018

Background:

Previous studies have analyzed the treatment patterns used to manage injuries in National Football League (NFL) players.

Hypothesis:

Treatment patterns for injuries in NFL players will have changed over the study period.

Study Design:

Descriptive epidemiology study.

Level of Evidence:

Level 5.

Methods:

The head orthopaedic team physicians for all 32 NFL teams were asked to complete a survey containing questions regarding experience as team physician, medical coverage of the team, and treatment preferences for some of the most common injuries occurring in football players. Responses from the current survey were compared with responses from the same survey sent to NFL team physicians in 2008.

Results:

Responses were received from 31 (31/32, 97%) NFL team physicians in 2008 and 29 (29/32, 91%) NFL team physicians between April 2016 and May 2017. The proportion of physicians preferring patellar tendon autograft in anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction increased from 87% in 2008 to 97% in 2016 ( P = 0.054). In 2008, 49% of physicians allowed return to contact after ACL reconstruction at 6 months or less as compared with only 14% of physicians in 2016 ( P = 0.033). In 2008, 93% of physicians used Toradol injections prior to a game to help with nagging injuries. Toradol injection utilization decreased to 48% of physicians in 2016 ( P < 0.001). Seventy-nine percent of physicians would administer 5 or more Toradol injections prior to a game in 2008, as compared with 28% of physicians in 2016 ( P < 0.0001).

Conclusion:

Orthopaedic physicians have changed their injury treatment preferences for professional football players. In particular, physicians have become more cautious with allowing players to return to play after ACL reconstruction and with the use of pregame Toradol injections.

Clinical Relevance:

Expert opinions can help guide treatment decisions and lead to better care of all athletes.
Neglected? Strengthening the Morphological Study of Informal Settlements
Authors: McCartney Shelagh , Krishnamurthy Sukanya
Published: February 2018

Methods of articulating the morphological structure of slums can have considerable potential in better planning for site-specific design or policy responses for these areas in the contemporary city. Although urban morphology traditionally studies landscapes as stratified residues with distinct divisions between lot and boundary, built and unbuilt, the authors find these definitions insufficient to address the complexity of slum morphology. Through this article, the authors’ identify that morphological analysis of informal settlements needs to be sensitive to the dynamics and the absence (or blurring) of physical boundaries. By analyzing the spatial impact of social, economic, and political factors, situational and site factors, building typologies, and configurations of circulation space, an attempt to articulate the morphological structure of slums is made. Aiming to overcome the current polarization in the literature between the formal and informal city, this article adds to the ongoing research on the study of challenges within contemporary cities, by providing new methodologies for studying the morphology of slum urbanization and shaping planning practice.
Public Assistance, Relationship Context, and Jail for Child Support Debt
Authors: Cozzolino Elizabeth
Published: February 2018

Previous studies of poverty governance have focused on the welfare system, the criminal justice system, and the connections between them. Yet less attention has been paid to a third institution that bridges the gap between these two systems: child support enforcement. Jailing for child support nonpayment is one of many mechanisms of child support enforcement, but little is known about this tactic. Using data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study, the author examines the process of nonresident fathers’ (1) acquiring a formal support order, (2) accruing child support debt, and (3) being jailed for this debt. The author proposes two pathways into jail for child support nonpayment—public assistance and relationship context—and demonstrates how each pathway affects the risk for jail. Overall, 14 percent of debtors spend time in jail for child support by the time their children are nine years old.
Reannotation and Analysis of Clinical and Chemotherapy Outcomes in the Ovarian Data Set From The Cancer Genome Atlas
Authors: Villalobos Victor M. , Wang Yan C. , Sikic Branimir I.
Published: February 2018

Purpose

The ovarian cancer data set from The Cancer Genome Atlas integrates genomic and proteomic data with clinical annotations based on chart abstractions. We aimed to develop an algorithm to create a matching, more accessible clinical data set cataloging time to treatment failure (TTF) of sequential lines of treatment in patients with serous ovarian cancers.

Materials and Methods

The master data set of 587 patients with serous ovarian cancer was condensed into a more homogeneous and clinically relevant population comprised of high-risk patients with both grade 3 cancers and stage III or IV disease, resulting in a subgroup of 450 patients. We quantified the TTF of different lines of therapy as well as different therapeutic combinations by extrapolating from the time of starting one therapy to the time of starting a subsequent therapy.

Results

The overall survival (OS) of patients was highly related to platinum sensitivity status, with median OS times of 56.6, 27.0, and 11.6 months in patients who had platinum-sensitive, -resistant, or -refractory disease, respectively. In high-risk patients, the median TTFs were 14.8, 10.2, 5.7, and 4.1 months with the first, second, third, and fourth lines of chemotherapy, respectively. Patients with stable disease after first-line therapy had similar OS outcomes as patients with partial remissions (34.4 v 33.7 months, respectively).

Conclusion

This new data set enhances the clinical annotation by providing exploitable chemotherapy benefit data that can now be paired with genomic and proteomic data within The Cancer Genome Atlas data. The major determinant of OS in this study was platinum sensitivity status. TTF decreased with each successive line of therapy. However, patients who achieved only stable disease with first-line therapy had OS similar to those with partial remission.
Blood Pressure Response during Cardiopulmonary Exercise Testing in Heart Failure
Authors: IL’GIOVINE ZACHARY J. , SOLOMON NICOLE , DEVORE ADAM D. , WOJDYLA DANIEL , PATEL CHETAN B. , ROGERS JOSEPH G.
Published: February 2018

Introduction

The prognostic value of peak V˙O2 and V˙
E/V˙CO2 slope measured during cardiopulmonary exercise (CPX) testing has been well established in patients with advanced heart failure, but blood pressure response to exercise is less well characterized.

Methods

We retrospectively studied 151 outpatients who underwent CPX testing as part of an advanced heart failure evaluation. The outcome of interest was failure of medical management, defined by death, cardiac transplantation, or left ventricular assist device placement. Patients were stratified into tertiles by change in systolic blood pressure (SBP) (<13, 13–26, and ≥27 mm Hg) during exercise.

Results

Patients in the lowest tertile had the lowest peak V˙O2 (10.2 vs 10.6 vs 13.6 mL·kg−1·min−1, P = <0.001), the highest V˙
E/V˙CO2 slope (42.8 vs 42.1 vs 36.3, P = 0.030), the shortest mean exercise time (5.1 vs 6.0 vs 7.0 min, P = <0.001), and the highest probability of failure of medical management at 1.5 yr (0.69 vs 0.41 vs 0.34, P = 0.011). After multivariate adjustment, increased SBP <20 mm Hg during exercise was associated with a lower hazard of medical management failure (hazard ratio = 0.96, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.934–0.987), whereas SBP increases >20 mm Hg were associated with an increased hazard (hazard ratio = 1.046, 95% CI = 1.018–1.075).

Conclusion

In conclusion, changes in SBP during CPX testing provide additional prognostic information above standard clinical variables. The peculiar increase in risk noted in those with a rise in SBP >20 mm Hg is less clear and needs to be investigated further.
Doses from cervical spine computed tomography (CT) examinations in the UK
Authors: Holroyd John R , Edyvean Sue
Published: February 2018

Objective:

To review doses to patients undergoing cervical spine CT examinations in the UK.

Methods:

A data collection form was developed and distributed to medical physicists and radiographers via e-mail distribution lists. The form requested details of CT scanners, exposure protocols and patient dose index information.

Results:

Data were received for 73 scanners. It was seen that 97% of scanners used automatic exposure control, and 60% of scanners used an iterative reconstruction technique for cervical spine examinations. The majority of scans were taken at 120 kV. The average patient dose indicators in terms of CT dose index (CTDIvol) ranged from 3.5 to 39.7 mGy (mean value 16.7 mGy), and for the DLP, ranged from 87 to 1030 mGy cm (mean value 379 mGy cm) as quoted for the standard 32 cm phantom.

Conclusion:

The rounded third quartile value of the mean dose distributions from this study were a CT dose index (CTDIvol) of 20 mGy and a dose–length product of 440 mGy cm as quoted for a 32 cm body phantom. These are significantly higher than those in the 2011 Public Health England CT dose survey when adjusted for phantom size. It is suggested that the existing national diagnostic reference levels for cervical spine CT should be amended, both with the new values and also to quote according to the 32 cm phantom.

Advances in knowledge:

Proposed new national diagnostic reference levels are presented for cervical spine CT examinations.
Οικονομικές ανισότητες, φτώχεια και κοινωνικός αποκλεισμός: Η διεθνής εμπειρία και η περίπτωση της Ελλάδας κατά την περίοδο της πρόσφατης κρίσης
Authors: Mitrakos Theodoros
Published: February 2018

Η διερεύνηση των ζητημάτων της ανισότητας, της φτώχειας και του κοινωνικού αποκλεισμού αποκτά ιδιαίτερο ενδιαφέρον στην περίοδο της κρίσης και τα ευρήματα των σχετικών εμπειρικών μελετών μπορούν να βοηθήσουν σημαντικά στο δημόσιο πολιτικό και κοινωνικό διάλογο. Στην κατεύθυνση αυτή η παρούσα μελέτη, αρχικά, συνοψίζει τα κυριότερα ευρήματα για τις οικονομικές ανισότητες με βάση την διεθνή εμπειρία. Στη συνέχεια παρουσιάζει τα αποτελέσματα από τις διαθέσιμες έρευνες σε σχέση με το μέγεθος και τη μεταβολή των κοινωνικών δεικτών, όπως είναι η εισοδηματική ανισότητα, η φτώχεια, ο κοινωνικός αποκλεισμός και άλλοι δείκτες ευημερίας στην Ελλάδα κατά την πρόσφατη περίοδο της κρίσης. Όπως προκύπτει από την ανάλυση, η μείωση του μεριδίου του εισοδήματος από εργασία αποτελεί πλέον διεθνή τάση, ενώ η εισοδηματική ανισότητα (σε παγκόσμιο επίπεδο) παραμένει σε ιστορικώς υψηλά επίπεδα. Στην περίπτωση της Ελλάδας, οι κοινωνικοί δείκτες της ανισότητας και της φτώχειας επιδεινώθηκαν σημαντικά τα πρώτα έτη της πρόσφατης κρίσης, κυρίως όμως σε σχέση με το βιοτικό επίπεδο των νοικοκυριών πριν από την κρίση. Έτσι, ο επαναπροσδιορισμός των βασικών παραμέτρων της κοινωνικής πολιτικής φαίνεται να προβάλλει ως επιτακτικά αναγκαίος από την πρόσφατη οικονομική κρίση και την τρέχουσα συγκυρία.
Can work-related stress and job satisfaction affect job commitment among nurses? A cross-sectional study
Authors: Eskandari Mahdi , Heidari Gorji Mohammad Ali
Published: February 2018

Background: Considering the significant role of nurses in health care and the importance of commitment in public health, the aim of this study was to examine the association between work-related stress, and job satisfaction and commitment among nurses.

Methods: This cross-sectional study has been performed among 100 nurses working in a teaching hospital affiliated to Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, northern Iran, in 2015. The participants were assessed by standard questionnaires on work-related stress, and job satisfaction and commitment. Descriptive indexes were analysed via regression and correlation.

Results: The participants were aged between 25 and 45 years. In total, 85% of nurses held a bachelor degree and the rest were postgraduates. Most of the nurses (77%) had experience in their job for more than 10 years. Total score of mean job commitment showed a high score among nurses (102.9±8.9); job satisfaction also showed a mean of (261.6±27.44). Total score of work-related stress was (112.0±11.99). The results indicated that job satisfaction and work-related stress explained 54% of variance in job commitment. The overall job satisfaction (Beta = 0.471, p<0.05) and overall work stress (Beta = -0.635, p<0.102) influenced job commitment.

Conclusion: The results of the present study showed that work stress and job satisfaction affects job commitment among nurses. Therefore, it is advisable to pay more attention to job satisfaction and stress in these sensitive occupations, to promote commitment and job efficacy.
Clinical signs of trachoma are prevalent among Solomon Islanders who have no persistent markers of prior infection with Chlamydia trachomatis
Authors: Butcher Robert , Sokana Oliver , Jack Kelvin , Sui Leslie , Russell Charles , Last Anna , Martin Diana L. , Burton Matthew J. , Solomon Anthony W. , Mabey David C.W. , Roberts Chrissy h.
Published: February 2018

Background: The low population-prevalence of trachomatous trichiasis and high prevalence of trachomatous inflammation–follicular (TF) provide contradictory estimates of the magnitude of the public health threat from trachoma in the Solomon Islands. Improved characterisation of the biology of trachoma in the region may support policy makers as they decide what interventions are required. Here, age-specific profiles of anti-Pgp3 antibodies and conjunctival scarring were examined to determine whether there is evidence of ongoing transmission and pathology from ocular Chlamydia trachomatis (Ct) infection.

Methods: A total of 1511 individuals aged ≥1 year were enrolled from randomly selected households in 13 villages in which >10% of children aged 1–9 years had TF prior to a single round of azithromycin mass drug administration undertaken six months previously. Blood was collected to be screened for antibodies to the Ct antigen Pgp3. Tarsal conjunctival photographs were collected for analysis of scarring severity.

Results: Anti-Pgp3 seropositivity was 18% in 1–9 year olds, sharply increasing around the age of sexual debut to reach 69% in those over 25 years. Anti-Pgp3 seropositivity did not increase significantly between the ages of 1–9 years and was not associated with TF (p=0.581) or scarring in children (p=0.472). Conjunctival scars were visible in 13.1% of photographs. Mild (p<0.0001) but not severe (p=0.149) scars increased in prevalence with age.

Conclusions: Neither conjunctival scars nor lymphoid follicles were associated with antibodies to Ct, suggesting that they are unlikely to be a direct result of ocular Ct infection. Clinical signs of trachoma were prevalent in this population but were not indicative of the underlying rates of Ct infection. The current World Health Organization guidelines for trachoma elimination indicated that this population should receive intervention with mass distribution of antibiotics, but the data presented here suggest that this may not have been appropriate.
Arbitrage Involvement and Security Prices
Authors: Hwang Byoung-Hyoun , Liu Baixiao , Xu Wei
Published: February 2018

We propose that hedge funds more aggressively buy underpriced stocks when they are allowed to short. To test our proposition, we utilize the institutional feature in Hong Kong in virtue of which only stocks added to a special list can be shorted. Our first-stage analysis uses hedge fund holdings data and provides evidence that the emergency of shortable securities, indeed, causes hedge funds to more aggressively buy seemingly underpriced stocks. Our second-stage analysis presents evidence that hedge funds’ increased involvement in these stocks helps correct underpricing and moves prices in the direction of fundamentals.

This paper was accepted by Lauren Cohen, finance.

The online appendix is available at https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2017.2912 .
Vertical and Horizontal Wage Dispersion and Mobility Outcomes: Evidence from the Swedish Microdata
Authors: Kacperczyk Aleksandra , Balachandran Chanchal
Published: February 2018

Using employer–employee matched data from Sweden between 2001 and 2008, we test hypotheses designed to assess the contingent nature of the relationship between wage dispersion and cross-firm mobility. Whereas past research has mostly established that dispersed wages increase interfirm mobility, we investigate the conditions under which pay variance might have the opposite effect, serving to retain workers. We propose that the effect of wage dispersion is contingent on organizational rank and that it depends on whether wages are dispersed vertically (between job levels) or horizontally (within the same job level). We find that vertical wage dispersion suppresses cross-firm mobility because it is associated with outcomes beneficial for employees, such as attractive advancement opportunities. By contrast, horizontal wage dispersion increases cross-firm mobility because it is associated with outcomes harmful for employees, such as inequity concerns. We further find that the vertical-dispersion effect is amplified (mitigated) for bottom (top) different-level wage earners because bottom (top) wage earners have the most (least) to gain from climbing the job ladder. Similarly, the horizontal-dispersion effect is amplified (mitigated) for bottom (top) same-level wage earners because bottom (top) wage earners are most (least) subject to negative consequences of this dispersion. More broadly, this study contributes to our understanding of the relationship between wage dispersion and cross-firm mobility.

The online appendix is available at https://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.2017.1169 .
Full of beans
Authors: Hart Karen
Published: February 2018

How many digs of the trowel does it take to make a little seed hole, and how many beans will you plant? In part three of her growing area series, Karen Hart explores opportunities for number skills.
24 Hours in a Revolution: Participatory music in the Umbrella Movement
Authors: Wong Samson Kei Shun
Published: February 2018

The Umbrella Movement (UM) in Hong Kong, through its prolonged street occupation, has created an expressive platform for countless artworks by artists and amateurs. Under investigation is 24 Hours in the Revolution, a group of mostly musicians who facilitated thirteen song writing sessions inside and outside the protest sites. In addition to being an invaluable source of documentation of the movement, this collection of 40 collaboratively written songs is unique among protest music in being highly personal, detailing individuals’ motivations to join the movement and their on-site experiences and emotions. The lyrics of the songs are analysed within the context of the UM, supported by available studies, interviews, documentations and news reports. The analysis expands the ten functions of ‘culture in movement’ to include the therapeutic impact of participatory music-making in providing psychological relieve and fortifications.
Transformations and cultural change in Scottish music education: Historical perspectives and contemporary solutions
Authors: Sheridan Mark , Byrne Charles
Published: February 2018

Cultural and socio-political disruptions have a direct impact on educational provision in both formal and non-formal contexts. Since the end of the Second World War, Scotland has faced significant upheaval in its social and economic fabric with the loss of traditional manufacturing and heavy industry, which was the mainstay of its financial stability. The formal education sector responded with far reaching changes in curriculum and assessment process in school examinations provision in the 1970s and 1980s; while grassroots organizations have driven a regeneration of older deeper musical and cultural foundations, flourishing over the last 40 years, despite, or because, of these disruptions. And young people in communities across Scotland are the core of this transformation. In 2008 the authors wrote:

What is important in this phenomenon is that young people are reclaiming the wealth of folk music and culture that had almost died out within largely rural communities in the margins of the north and north-west of Scotland (Campbell, 1999; Munro, 1996; Shaw, 1977). The work of Fèisean Nan Gàidheal has been largely instrumental in this restoration.

(Broad & France, 2006; Matarasso, 1996)

This article explores the responses to these changes and offers perspectives on the Scottish narrative for a wider global audience.
Thumbs Up: The effective use of music in health and well-being education for Australian Aboriginal youth in remote communities
Authors: Anthony Brendan , Weston Donna , Vallen Samuel
Published: February 2018

The academic literature on Australian Indigenous health and well-being suggests an overwhelming need for education to alleviate ‘lifestyle’ diseases and social dysfunction. Yet, the socio-cultural diversity of Australian Aboriginal communities provides a challenging landscape for efficacious and long-lasting support processes. The ‘Uncle Jimmy Thumbs Up!’ (UJTU) programme is facing these issues from an innovative perspective. ‘Thumbs up’, addresses health and well-being in remote Aboriginal communities from the ground up by engaging in music education programmes with the youth of the community, which subsequently filters through to the broader community. Based on an analysis of the effectiveness of a ‘Thumbs Up’ case study, this article will present preliminary recommendations for working with Australian Indigenous youth and their broader communities through facilitated musical activities. Informal learning frameworks, which incorporate music-making shared between educators and community members, are shown to be a constructive means of engaging the youth and empowering them in the management of their health and well-being.
Shared spaces: Artistic methods for collaborative works
Authors: Dahlqvist Jörgen , Olofsson Kent
Published: February 2018

Teatr Weimar is a performing arts collective founded in 2003 and located in Malmö, Sweden. The group brings together playwrights, directors, actors, musicians and other artists to explore the boundaries and expressive potential of contemporary performing arts. The works of the collective are syntheses of traditional and experimental theatre, new music theatre, concert music, radiophonic art, video art and sound installations. The approach and practice of integrating different art forms and genres are vastly diverse. This article will discuss a number of terms, concepts and methods that have emerged out of the body of works as essential tools for the collaborative artistic processes.
Touch-less: Wearable music and the score-theatre
Authors: Spagnolo Simone
Published: February 2018

This article reflects on the idea of the music score as a wearable theatrical prop, an idea able both to envisage theatrical gestures as the outgrowth of music notation and epitomize the intangibility of music by means of ‘ostented’ dramaturgical objects. Through an exploration of Touch-less: Wearable Graphic Scores for One Acting Singer, a self-composed work, this article discusses the compositional and aesthetic processes that emerge from the combination of a graphically notated score and the idea of wearable-score-prop within the framework of new music theatre, a combination that eventually leads toward an appreciation of the score-theatre. The discussion takes into consideration relevant examples and concepts put forward by Karlheinz Stockhausen, Mauricio Kagel and Sylvano Bussotti. Similarly, it proposes connections between the idea of score-prop and the aesthetic properties of the calligram.
From process to progress: Completion?
Authors: Wilkins Caroline
Published: February 2018

As a composer/performer with a background in practice as research, I propose a study of two works in progress, The Dressing Room (2014–) and Beyonsense (2015–), both of which are at different stages of ‘completion’ and ongoing in terms of their performance history. My approach combines perspectives taken from both the creative process and the performative experience, together with a more reflective position of analysis regarding their future integration. This discussion is placed within a context that argues for the vital role played by festivals, arts organizations and academic institutions in facilitating the presentation of new forms of music theatre that are at different stages of development. Drawing on my own experience of these, I evaluate the importance of a work’s exposure, as a work-in-the-making, to both colleagues and cross-disciplinary audiences alike.
‘Kungfu/Jazz’ as a new approach to music theatre making: Fred Ho and ‘manga opera’
Authors: Liu Sissi
Published: February 2018

In this article, kungfu and jazz – performing art forms that originated from the racial Others – will be used as shorthand for two concurrent, interdependent and dialectically opposing cultural processes: one that prioritizes boundary formation or reinforcement, and one that favours boundary elimination or crossing. I analyse the processes of Kungfu and Jazz in the case of Ho’s Voice of the Dragon (1997–2006) and explore the paradoxical process of negotiating between the two, Kungfu and Jazz, in Ho’s creation of a new genre: ‘manga opera’. I propose that in a world of increasing global encounters, racial and ethnic multiplicities, and political and cultural complexities, Kungfu/Jazz provides a politically progressive and transgressive approach to the process of boundary-conscious musical theatre-making.
Performance Review
Authors: Graziano John
Published: February 2018

The Golden Apple, book and lyrics by John Latouche, music by Jerome Moross, directed by Michael Berresse, New York City Center, New York, May 2017
Chiclete com banana e com bacalhau: o rock nos dois lados do Atlântico
Authors: Paranhos Adalberto
Published: February 2018

“A vida vem em ondas, como o mar”, já escreveu, com a mão de poeta, Vinicius de Moraes em “Dia da criação”. O rock, no entanto, foi mais do que uma onda que arrebentou em praias de todas as latitudes e longitudes. Verdadeiro tsunami, ele – especialmente a partir de meados dos anos 1950 – derrubou tradições, por mais que, dialeticamente, também se alimentasse delas, num movimento como que antropofágico.
Imaginarios y estrategias decoloniales
Authors: Ferrera-Balanquet Raúl Moarquech
Published: February 2018

Enunciando el delinking de la matriz moderna/ colonial, este artículo imagina un territorio crítico teórico creativo partiendo de la aesthesis decolonial con el fin de dialogar con una serie de hacedores culturales que emplean estrategias creativas decoloniales en proyectos creativos. Un acercamiento a la exposición Haceres Decoloniales (2015) realizada en Bogotá, ofrece la oportunidad de conversar sobre el hacer creativo de Benvenuto Chavajay, Rosa Tisoy Tandoy y Marco Alonso Roa. Los efectos de la colonialidad sonora conllevan a dialogar con la artista maya k´iche Sandra Monterroso y el creador maya yucateco Isaac Carrillo Can. Discursamos sobre el proyecto Espejo Negro (2010) de Pedro Lasch y el mural Las Aguas Sagradas de La Llorona (2004) de la artista xicana Juana Alicia. Terminamos con una interpretación crítica sobre el proyecto Mariposa Memoria Ancestral (2013-2015), y el performance multidisciplinario Whip It Good (2013) de la artista danesa trinitobaguense Jeannette Ehlers.
Notes on the Presence of the Greek Tragedy in Colombia
Authors: Romero Rey Sandro
Published: February 2018

El mundo antiguo y, en particular, el de la tragedia griega, se presenta en Colombia bajo diversas máscaras. En el presente texto se hace un recorrido a través de la presencia de los textos de Esquilo, Sófocles y Eurípides en distintas manifestaciones artísticas. Desde la poesía y la narrativa, pasando por el cine y las artes visuales, la tragedia antigua ha servido como metáfora para reflexionar sobre la situación de violencia extrema en el país suramericano y las maneras como se puede construir  Electra. Coproducción de la Escuela Nacional de Arte Dramático (ENAD; Bogotá, Colombia) y la Nordisk Teaterskole de Arhus (Dinamarca). Dirección: Sandro Romero Rey. Fotos: Karen Lamassonne. (1993).Al mismo tiempo se concentra en los distintos modelos escénicos, desde su praxis en las tablas, donde se destacan las versiones “ilustrativas”, las transformaciones en las convenciones de la representación o la utilización de las fábulas como detonantes en inmersiones creativas mucho más ambiciosas. El presente texto en inglés fue el punto de partida para los Encounters with Classical Antiquity in Latin America. A Humanities / Humanity Workshop at Yale University en octubre de 2017, presentado por su autor.
A Recurrent Question: What Is Borderline?
Authors: Zandersen Maja , Henriksen Mads Gram , Parnas Josef
Published: February 2018

The status of borderline personality disorder (BPD) as a diagnostic category is a matter of continuing controversy. In the United States, BPD is one of the most frequent diagnoses of psychiatric inpatients, and a similar tendency emerges in Europe. Nearly all theoretical aspects of BPD have been questioned, including its very position as a personality disorder. In this article, we trace the evolution of the borderline concept from the beginning of the 20th century to the current psychometric research. We argue that the status of BPD is fraught with conceptual difficulties, including an unrecognized semantic drift of major phenomenological terms (e.g., identity), a lack of general principles for the distinction of BPD and the major psychiatric syndromes (e.g., schizophrenia spectrum disorders), and insufficient definitions of key nosological concepts. These difficulties illustrate general problems in today's psychiatry that require consideration.
Afghanistan in 2017
Authors: Fair C. Christine
Published: February 2018

The year 2017 witnessed continued challenges to the credibility and competence of the so-called National Unity Government in Kabul. President Ghani and Chief Executive Abdullah competed over the perquisites of power rather than collaborating to secure a viable future for their country. US and NATO forces remained at a stalemate with the Taliban, while Afghanistan’s predatory neighbors were as self-interested as ever. Hard-won gains remain reversible.
Sri Lanka in 2017
Authors: Padma Sree
Published: February 2018

Sri Lanka’s 69-year-old parliamentary democracy continues with power concentrated at the center, and consequently, the country’s non-Sinhala-Buddhist minorities on the periphery continue to press for equal rights, while ethnic strife hinders prospects for unified progress. Maithripala Sirisena, president since 2015, promises reconciliation but has received little cooperation from the majority Sinhala Buddhists.
Nepal in 2017
Authors: Ostermann Susan
Published: February 2018

Despite challenges, Nepal held local and national-level elections this year, the first under its 2015 constitution. A surprising leftist alliance now controls the legislature, while a wide range of parties fill local-level offices. Nepal still faces natural and economic headwinds, but political stability will lessen their effects.
Myanmar in 2017
Authors: Fink Christina
Published: February 2018

During its second year in office, Myanmar’s NLD government made little progress on its agenda to restore peace, reduce the role of the military in politics, and raise standards of living for the poor. Instead, the dominant issues were the security crisis in Rakhine State and the exodus of half the Rohingya population.
Indonesia in 2017
Authors: Gunn Geoffrey C.
Published: February 2018

In mass demonstrations spearheaded by a coalition of Islamic radicals, 2017 witnessed a polarizing assault on the nation’s broadly secular founding creed, Pancasila. With the arrest and imprisonment of the popular ethnic-Chinese Christian mayor of Jakarta on spurious blasphemy charges, even the Indonesian president was left on the back foot and obliged to push back.
Laos in 2017
Authors: Rehbein Boike
Published: February 2018

While the economy, and socioeconomic inequality, continue to grow rapidly, the leadership of Laos has returned to a rhetoric claiming to pursue the goal of establishing a socialist society. However, the social structures that have evolved historically make make it very unlikely that the country’s contemporary policies will create even development and balanced socio-economic levels.
Taiwan in 2017
Authors: Tsai Chung-Min
Published: February 2018

President Tsai Ing-wen has been plagued by controversial domestic issues, and her popularity has fallen significantly. While economic growth in Taiwan has increased, inequality and deteriorating cross-Strait relations have been hard on the ruling party. Tsai needs to work with the new premier, William Ching-te Lai, to regain people’s trust for the local elections in 2018.
Bosanska štokavština u istraživanjima Dalibora Brozovića
Authors: Hrnjica Samra
Published: February 2018

Akademik Dalibor Brozović, proučavalac genetske, sociološke i tipološke lingvistike, svojim djelovanjem izuzetno je vezan za bosanskohercegovačke prostore. Najveće zanimanje u okvirima dijalektologije i poredbene lingvistike Brozović je posvetio štokavštini i bosanskim govorima, a veliki doprinos ogleda se i u izradi lingvističkih atlasa, terenskom istraživanju, prikupljanju i izvještavanju o stanju u okviru govora u Bosni i Hercegovini. Za ostalu južnoslavensku filologiju od neizmjerne su važnosti istraživanja ovoga jezikoslovca u sferi dijalektologije, a ovdje ćemo se ograničiti na dio bosanske štokavštine u najvažnijim izdanjima akademika Brozovića.
150. godišnjica rođenja Ante Tresića Pavičića
Authors: Pavlović Cvijeta
Published: February 2018

Osvrt na život i djelo hrvatskoga književnika i političara Ante Tresića Pavičića (1867. – 1949.) osvjetljuje složenost hrvatske povijesti i književnosti u kulturno- političkim mijenama. Način na koji je Tresić Pavičić prikazivan u povijesnim i književnopovijesnim istraživanjima ukazuje na nestabilnu recepciju njegove važnosti. Ovaj prilog ocrtava žanrovsku raznovrsnost njegova književnoga doprinosa povijesti hrvatske književnosti, uzimajući u obzir i njegove političke pozicije. Danas je sazrelo vrijeme za objektivnu procjenu njegova opusa, od inovativnih do petrificirajućih estetičkih opredjeljenja. Biografija i bibliografija Ante Tresića Pavičića prepleće se s kanonskim pozicijama Marka Marulića s jedne i Vladimira Nazora s druge strane. Važan za povijest hrvatskoga epa, lirike, drame, te iznimno vrijedan putopisac, on zavrjeđuje kulturološku revalorizaciju.
Heterogenost stilova i drugomedijski kodovi kritičarskih tekstova u "Zadovoljštini u tekstu" Gorana Rema
Authors: Buljubašić Ivana
Published: February 2018

U radu se analizira knjiga kritičarskih tekstova Zadovoljština u tekstu (1989) Gorana Rema kojoj se prilazi iz tradicionalne tipologije funkcionalnih stilova. Proučava se postojanje medijskih kodova i njihovo isprepletanje pri čemu kritičarski tekstovi, a i knjiga u cijelosti, poprimaju intermedijalni karakter. Rad nudi pregled zastupljenih funkcionalnih stilova (znanstvenoga, esejističkoga, književnoumjetničkoga, razgovornoga, žurnalističkoga, publicističkoga) te varijante medijskoga subjekta koje proizlaze iz iskustva kritičarskoga subjekta i kodova kulture (ponajprije medijske i rock-kulture) koje subjekt upisuje u čitanje i interpretiranje književnih predložaka. Rad pokazuje funkcionalnostilsku heterogenost kritičarskih tekstova u Zadovoljštini u tekstu te postojanje četiriju varijanata medijskoga subjekta na temelju čega se zaključuje da je riječ o hibridnim tekstovima imenovanim postkritikama čija hibridnost sugerira pripadnost postmodernoj kulturi.
Govor zaselka Mrkoči u središnjoj Istri
Authors: Klarić Alvijana
Published: February 2018

U radu se prikazuju fonološke, morfonološke, morfološke i sintaktičke značajke govora Mrkoči u središnjoj Istri. Riječ je o ikavsko-ekavskome govoru koji se prostire između ekavskih žminjskih govora na zapadu, ikavsko-ekavskih ceranskih na jugu, ikavskih barbanskih na jugoistoku i ikavsko-ekavskih čepićkih na istoku. Usporedbom sa susjednim čepićkim govorima s jedne strane i ceranskim s druge utvrđeno je da se više podudaraju s ceranskim, s kojima dijele gotovo sve jezične crte, dok između mrkočkoga idioma i čepićkih govora ima puno razlika i na fonološkoj i na morfološkoj razini. Stoga se zaključuje da se govor Mrkoči teritorijalno nastavlja na čepićke govore, ali ne i jezično jer ne pripadaju istomu jezičnom tipu. Opisom jezičnih značajki utvrđeno je da, prema podjeli Dalibora Brozovića, govor pripada srednjočakavskomu ili ikavsko-ekavskomu dijalektu, a prema podjeli Ive Lukežić, kontinuira rubni poddijalekt unutar sustava ikavsko-ekavskoga dijalekta.
Inojezični razvoj i teorije dinamičnih sustava
Authors: Bašić Marijana
Published: February 2018

U ovome se radu raspravlja o dosadašnjim teorijskim spoznajama o inojezičnome razvoju iz perspektive teorije dinamičnih sustava (engl. Dynamic systems theory, tj. DST), o pokušaju oblikovanja razvojnoga indeksa, o pojavi teorijskoga pluralizma u okviru kojega se ukazalo na sličnosti između složenih nepravocrtnih sustava koji se pojavljuju u prirodi i pri ovladavanju inim jezikom te o različitim načinima mjerenja složenosti, točnosti i tečnosti, tj. STOT-a (engl. complexity, accuracy and fluency, tj. CAF). Opisuju se nove metode istraživanja inojezičnoga razvoja te daje detaljan pregled najvažnijih recentnih istraživanja u okviru teorije dinamičnih sustava, odnosno teorije kaosa ili složenosti (engl. Chaos/complexity theory, tj. C/ CT), teorije složenih prilagodljivih sustava (engl. Complex adaptive system theory, tj. CAS) i (nad)teorije složenih sustava (engl. Complex systems supra-theory).
Prva velika monografija o šibenskim otocima
Authors: Čilaš Šimpraga Ankica
Published: February 2018

Toponimija šibenskih otoka. Ur. Vladimir Skračić, Zadar: Sveučilište u Zadru, 2016.
MANAGEMENT OF ENDOCRINE DISEASE: Can we cure Cushing’s disease? A personal view
Authors: Bertagna X
Published: February 2018

One of today’s challenges in endocrinology is the treatment of Cushing’s disease: Although pituitary surgery has the potential to ‘cure’ the patient and restore a completely normal pituitary adrenal axis, there are immediate failures and late recurrences that will ultimately require alternate therapeutic approaches. Their high number is in direct correlation with their serious limitations and they all appear to be ‘default options’. This ‘personal view’ tries to shed some light on the inescapable difficulties of the current treatments of Cushing’s disease and to provide some optimistic view for the future where the pituitary adenoma should be the ‘reasonable obsession’ of a successful therapeutist.