bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
MicroRNA 182 is a Novel Negative Regulator of Adipogenesis by Targeting CCAAT/Enhancer‐Binding Protein α
Authors: Dong Meijuan , Ye Yuqing , Chen Zhinan , Xiao Ting , Liu Wei , Hu Fang
Published: June 2020

Objective

Recent studies have shown that microRNAs (miRNAs/miRs) play key roles in adipogenesis. This study aimed to investigate the role and underlying mechanism of miR‐182 in adipogenesis.

Methods

This study used the 3T3‐L1 cell line and human visceral adipose tissue (VAT)‐derived adipocytes to determine the role of miR‐182 in adipogenesis. Adipose tissues from mice with high‐fat diet–induced obesity, ob/ob mice, or human individuals with obesity were used to determine the association of miR‐182 levels with obesity. A luciferase reporter assay was used to determine the target of miR‐182.

Results

The expression level of miR‐182 was greatly downregulated during white adipogenesis and markedly lower in the VAT of mice and humans with obesity. Ectopic expression of miR‐182 in 3T3‐L1 cells and human adipocytes suppressed the formation of lipid droplets and the expression of adipogenic genes. The luciferase reporter assay showed that miR‐182 targeted the 3′‐untranslated sequence of CCAAT/enhancer‐binding protein α (C/EBPα) directly. In addition, glucocorticoids negatively regulated miR‐182 expression, which, in turn, suppressed the glucocorticoid‐induced expression of C/EBPα.

Conclusions

Taken together, our studies identified miR‐182 as a novel negative regulator of adipogenesis and a potential therapeutic target for obesity.
Siren song: Chinese economic diplomacy regarding Portugal (the case of the energy sector)
Authors: Fernandes José Pedro Teixeira
Published: June 2020

The main purpose of this article is a brief analysis of China and its economic diplomacy regarding Portugal, as a Member State of the European Union. The analysis was developed throughout several points. First, the Chinese model of socialist market economy within a global environment configured by liberal ideas. Second, the main characteristics of China's economic diplomacy model, one where the economic and the political are closely intertwined. Third, a focus on the economic attractiveness that China exerts upon Portugal, in particular, the Chinese investment in the Portuguese energy sector. Finally, some conclusions about the possible consequences for Portugal economic and strategic dependence on China in a world where the US‐China rivalry is growing.
Low von Willebrand factor in pediatric patients: Retrospective analysis of 293 cases informs diagnostic and therapeutic decision making
Authors: Shui Michelle , D'Angelo Loren , Croteau Stacy E.
Published: June 2020

Low von Willebrand factor (VWF) poses diagnostic and therapeutic challenges for predicting bleed risk and need for empiric hemostatic therapy, particularly in children. Retrospective review identified 293 low VWF pediatric patients and investigated clinical and laboratory features. Low activity to antigen ratio was observed in 142 patients. When evaluation included VWF activity with gain‐of‐function glycoprotein Ib fragments (VWF:GPIbM) assay or VWF exon 28 sequencing, low VW was excluded in the majority (62%) of these patients. Application of a condensed bleeding assessment tool to quantify bleeding symptoms and use of the VWF:GPIbM assay may reduce the number of patients with bleed risk anxiety and unnecessary hemostatic management plans.
Registration of ‘Bobcat’ hard red winter wheat
Authors: Bruckner P. L. , Berg J. E. , Lamb P. F. , Kephart K. D. , Eberly J. O. , Miller J. H. , Chen C. , Torrion J. A. , Pradhan G. P. , Ramsfield R. , Nash D. L. , Holen D. L. , Cook J. P. , Gale S. , Jin Y. , Kolmer J. , Chen X. , Bai G.
Published: June 2020

‘Bobcat’ (Reg. no. CV‐1161, PI 693235) hard red winter (HRW) wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) was developed and released by the Montana Agricultural Experiment Station in September 2019. Bobcat is of unknown pedigree, derived from a composite of two related single crosses made in 2007: MT0598/98X366‐E29‐1 and 01X258‐C1/MT0598. MT0598 is an unreleased, hollow‐stem experimental line, and 98X366‐E29‐1 and 01X258‐C1 are unreleased, Montana solid‐stem experimental lines. Bobcat was developed using a modified bulk breeding method and selected as an F5:6 head row. Bobcat was tested under the experimental number MTS1588 from 2015 to 2019 in Montana. Quality was evaluated in multilocation Montana trials since 2015. Bobcat is a solid‐stem, high‐yielding HRW wheat cultivar with medium to high test weight, medium maturity, reduced height (Rht‐B1b), medium to high grain protein, and acceptable milling and baking quality. Bobcat was released for its improved host plant resistance to wheat stem sawfly (Cephus cinctus Nort.) conditioned by stem solidness, along with short stature, and improved yield potential relative to ‘Warhorse’, the current predominant solid‐stem cultivar in Montana.
Synthesis of bottlebrush block copolymers from bottlebrush polystyrene and bottlebrush random copolymer of ω‐end‐norbornyl polymethacrylates and their self‐assembly
Authors: Seo Ho‐Bin , Kim Myung‐Jin , Yu Yong‐Guen , Chae Chang‐Geun , Lee Jae‐Suk
Published: June 2020

Six different bottlebrush block copolymers (BBCPs) (A‐b‐(B‐co‐C)) from bottlebrush polystyrene (A) and bottlebrush random copolymers (B‐co‐C) of polymethacrylates were synthesized through living anionic polymerization and ring‐opening metathesis polymerization. To induce the phase separation of bottlebrush polystyrene (PNB‐g‐PS) (A) and bottlebrush poly(benzyl methacrylate) (PNB‐g‐PBzMA) (C)‐based BBCP with an extremely low Flory–Huggins interaction parameter (χ), three kinds of bottlebrush polymethacrylates (B): poly(norbornene‐g‐methyl methacrylate) (PNB‐g‐PMMA), poly(norbornene‐g‐tert‐butyl methacrylate) (PNB‐g‐PtBMA), and poly(norbornene‐g‐methacrylic acid) (PNB‐g‐PMAA), respectively, were randomly combined with C. An order–disorder phase transition of the BBCPs (A‐b‐(B‐co‐C)) was observed with a change in mole ratios of PMMA, PtBMA, or PMAA to PBzMA of 25, 50, and 75% in random copolymer blocks using field‐emission scanning microscopy. While the BBCP with 25% of PMAA in the random copolymer block showed an ordered lamellar nanostructure, a disordered morphology was revealed at 75% PMAA. SEM showed that the incorporation of PtBMA and PBzMA showed better‐ordered lamellar morphologies than was the case with PMMA and PBzMA at the same mole ratios.
Analysis of Natech risk induced by lightning strikes in floating roof tanks based on the Bayesian network model
Authors: Cheng Yulong , Luo Yun
Published: June 2020

Based on the Bayesian network, a risk assessment model of Natech was established to assess the risks associated with lightning. Based on existing research results and expert analyses, a causal relationship between different parameters was constructed, and the conditional probability values of nodes were determined. This Natech risk assessment model was used to predict and analyze the fire explosion of inner floating roof tanks caused by lightning. The results showed that Natech risk assessment models by the Bayesian network could clearly express the direct causality of risk factors and perform both predictive and diagnostic analyses.
Observation of Large Surface Area Exfoliation in Hydrogen Implanted Ge
Authors: Pathak Ravi , Dadwal Uday , Kapoor Ashok K. , Singh Rajendra
Published: June 2020

Large surface area exfoliation of the hydrogen (H)‐implanted Ge is investigated in this work. H+ ions with a fluence of 1 × 1017 cm−2 are implanted in Ge samples at liquid nitrogen and room temperature (RT). The formation of surface blisters and craters is observed in the samples annealed between 300 and 450 °C after implantation. Interestingly, samples implanted at RT show large surface area exfoliation extending over several hundreds of micrometer region after annealing. Secondary ion mass spectroscopy (SIMS) and depth‐resolved Raman spectroscopy are used to characterize the depth profile of implanted H+ ions and stress in the damage region, respectively. The formation of the damage band filled with extended planar defects in the form of nanocracks is observed using a cross‐sectional transmission electron microscope (TEM). The physical understanding of the H‐induced internal pressure and stress in the surface blisters/craters is carried out using Föppl–von Karman theory of thin plates.
The Performance Comparison Between Fullerene and Nonfullerene Interlayers in Inverted Organic Solar Cells
Authors: Chen Chunxin , Liu Wenxing , Guan Xi , Zhang Jidong , Yang Qingqing , Qin Dashan
Published: June 2020

Inverted fullerene organic solar cells with cathode modifying layers (CML) of ZnO/electron acceptor/polyethylenimine ethoxylated (PEIE) are fabricated, where electron acceptor is either [6,6]‐phenyl C71‐butyric acid methyl ester (PC71BM) or a nonfullerene acceptor (IDIC). Compared to the devices based on conventional ZnO and ZnO/PEIE, the ones based on ZnO/PC71BM/PEIE and ZnO/IDIC/PEIE show increased short‐circuit current densities (JSC), demonstrating both PC71BM and IDIC interlayers enhance the exciton splitting in donor phase located at the bottom of photoactive layer. The nearly same values of JSC based on ZnO/PC71BM/PEIE and ZnO/IDIC/PEIE imply the PC71BM and IDIC interlayers have almost identical capabilities of splitting excitons in donor phase, governed by the quadrupolarities and stacking modes of electron acceptors. The PC71BM and IDIC interlayers passivate the oxygen‐deficient defects of ZnO surface, leading to the increases in fill factor (FF) of device; the ZnO/IDIC/PEIE gives larger FF than the ZnO/PC71BM/PEIE, indicating IDIC passivate ZnO more effectively than PC71BM. The current research provides some helpful insights into developing high‐performance electron acceptors.
Solid–liquid interface analysis with in‐situ Rutherford backscattering and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy
Authors: Bergmann Ute , Apelt Sabine , Khojasteh Nasrin B. , Heller René
Published: June 2020

A novel Rutherford backscattering spectrometry (RBS) method is presented to investigate the interface between a solid surface and a surrounding liquid. The introduced measurement system allows to observe and quantify adsorption at the solid–liquid interface and the formation of the electrochemical double layer (EDL). BaCl2 as a bicomponent electrolyte and a Si3N4 membrane surface are chosen as a model system to prove the capabilities of the setup. The results of these RBS measurements are combined with electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) to validate the findings for the solid–liquid interface under study. Complementary results and discrepancies regarding the formation of the EDL are discussed.
Hydrothermal Treatment to Improve Processing Characteristics of Flour for Gluten‐Free Pasta
Authors: Rudra Shalini Gaur , Anand Vishnu , Kaur Charanjit , Bhooshan Neeru , Bhardwaj Rakesh
Published: June 2020

Gluten‐free (GF) food formulations are being sought by millions of consumers across the world. However, limited food options available for them are often deficient in important nutrients and have low bioavailability. Pseudocereals like grain amaranth and millets like barnyard millet offer great benefits in terms of abundance of important nutrients, provide high quality protein, and are gluten free. Improving their processing attributes and protein digestibility however remains a challenge. In this study, gluten‐free pasta is prepared using amaranth and barnyard millet. Extrusion processing of flours is explored to improve their processing characteristics. Considering the pasting profile of flours, extruded barnyard millet flour demonstrating lower peak viscosity while providing higher final viscosities is used to bring extruded amaranth flour properties close to semolina. Preheating at 40 °C prior to drying increased the firmness maximum by 1.28 times. Further, drying at high temperature under high humidity condition increases pasta firmness by 13% and reduces stickiness by 20.9%. The rate of protein digestion of GF pasta is 0.1853 min−1 in comparison to semolina pasta (0.1234 min−1) which indicates ease of digestibility of GF pasta, a desirable attribute in the case of already digestion‐compromised celiac patients.
Cross‐level fragility analysis of modularized suspended buildings based on experimentally validated numerical models
Authors: Ye Zhihang , Shafieezadeh Abdollah , Sezen Halil , Wu Gang , Feng De‐Cheng
Published: June 2020

Suspended buildings typically have a core as the primary and suspended floors as the secondary structures. These configurations offer visual transparency, smaller vertical components, and seismic attenuation via the primary–secondary structure interaction. Such attenuation is further enhanced by the modularization of the suspended segment which allows large drifts but prevents them from causing damage. Previously conducted shake‐table tests have confirmed these features. However, how the component performance contributes to system performance has not been quantitated. To address this gap, fragility analyses are conducted for 10‐story experimentally validated models with optimized supplemental dampers and inter‐module stiffness. Multiple limit state functions are proposed to provide a full account of damage sources. Additionally, a mapping rule from the component‐level to the system‐level limit states is developed which captures the influence of damage distribution on system‐level limit states. Results for the uncontrolled suspended building indicate that for the PGV of 0.5 m/s, the failure probabilities of the repairable and life safety limit states are 97% and 83%, respectively. These probabilities are 92% and 27% for the frame structure with viscous dampers, 58% and 5% for the passive‐controlled modularized suspended building system (MSBS), and 45% and 3% for MSBS with optimal vertical distributions of modularized secondary structure.
Distributed treatment systems
Authors: Ng Andrew J. , Sheehan Nathaniel P. , Martinez Erick , Murray Kyle , McCollum Caleb , Flagg Tim , Boyle John , Bier Peter
Published: June 2020

This section presents a review of the scientific literature published in 2019 on topics relating to distributed treatment systems. This review is divided into the following sections: constituent removal, treatment technologies, planning and treatment management, and other topics.

Practitioner points

Highlights changes and innovation in removal techniques and technologies in water treatment.

Reviews management systems of distributed treatment systems.

Discusses point‐of‐use treatment systems.
Frequency distribution in intraoperative stimulation-evoked EMG responses during selective dorsal rhizotomy in children with cerebral palsy—part 1: clinical setting and neurophysiological procedure
Authors: Wolter Simone , Spies Claudia , Martin John H. , Schulz Matthias , Sarpong-Bengelsdorf Akosua , Unger Joachim , Thomale Ulrich-W. , Michael Theodor , Murphy James F. , Haberl Hannes
Published: June 2020

Introduction

Selective dorsal rhizotomy (SDR) consists of microsurgical partial deafferentation of sensory nerve roots (L1–S2). It is primarily used today in decreasing spasticity in young cerebral palsy (CP) patients. Intraoperative monitoring (IOM) is an essential part of the surgical decision-making process, aimed at improving functional results. The role played by SDR-IOM is examined, while realizing that connections between complex EMG responses to nerve–root stimulation and a patient’s individual motor ability remain to be clarified.

Methods

We conducted this retrospective study, analyzing EMG responses in 146 patients evoked by dorsal–root and rootlet stimulation, applying an objective response–classification system, and investigating the prevalence and distribution of the assessed grades. Part1 describes the clinical setting and SDR procedure, reintroduced in Germany by the senior author in 2007.

Results

Stimulation-evoked EMG response patterns revealed significant differences along the segmental levels. More specifically, a comparison of grade 3+4 prevalence showed that higher-graded rootlets were more noticeable at lower nerve root levels (L5, S1), resulting in a typical rostro-caudal anatomical distribution.

Conclusions

In view of its prophylactic potential, SDR should be carried out at an early stage in all CP patients suffering from severe spasticity. It is particularly effective when used as an integral part of a coordinated, comprehensive spasticity program in which a team of experts pool their information. The IOM findings pertaining to the anatomical grouping of grades could be of potential importance in adjusting the SDR-IOM intervention to suit the specific individual constellation, pending further validation.

Trial registration

ClinicalTrials.gov ID: NCT03079362
Nocturnal singing by diurnal birds in a temperate region of central Europe
Authors: Kułaga Kinga , Budka Michał
Published: June 2020

Most bird species sing by day, with two distinct peaks of vocal activity—around sunrise and sunset. However, even typically diurnal birds also sing during at night what is for them an atypical part of the day. To date, the mechanism and function(s) of such behaviour remain unclear across bird taxa. In our study we focused on night singing by diurnal birds in two different types of environments—forests and open areas in eastern Poland. We examined: (1) which diurnal species sing at night (defined as the period between astronomical dusk and dawn); (2) how intensively different species vocalise at night; and (3) whether the occurrence of nocturnal singing by diurnal birds depends on the type of environment. To do this, we used autonomous sound recorders to record soundscapes in 27 points located in open habitats and 27 points located in forests. At each location the recorder continuously collected data for an entire day during the breeding season, from one hour before dawn to 10 AM the next day. All night songs were classified to their species of origin via manual spectrogram scanning. We recorded 88 bird species in total (12 orders, 32 families), of which 24 species (7 orders, 15 families) sang at night. Night singing was observed significantly more often in open areas than in forests. The frequency and intensity of night singing was species-specific and ranged from occasional singing to regular and intense singing. We hypothesise that elevated light levels have a crucial influence on night singing, but that the effect of light may also be modified by environmental factors (e.g., predator pressure).
The Stability Functions and Realizability of the Turbulent Kinetic Energy–Scalar Variance Closure for Moist Atmospheric Boundary-Layer Turbulence
Authors: Machulskaya Ekaterina , Mironov Dmitrii V.
Published: June 2020

The problem of realizability of the second-order turbulence closure models (parametrization schemes) is addressed through the consideration of the so-called “stability functions”. The emphasis is on the turbulence kinetic energy–scalar variance (TKESV) closure scheme that carries prognostic transport equations for the turbulence kinetic energy (TKE) and for the variances and covariance of two quasi-conservative scalars suitable for describing moist atmospheric boundary-layer turbulence. Stability functions appear within the framework of truncated closure schemes, where (i) the Reynolds-stress and scalar-flux equations (and, within the framework of one-equation TKE schemes, also equations for scalar variances and covariance) are reduced to the diagnostic algebraic formulations by neglecting the substantial derivatives and the third-order transport terms, and (ii) simplified linear parametrizations of the pressure-scrambling terms are used. The stability functions are ill-behaved (tend to infinity or become negative) over a certain range of governing parameters, e.g., mean velocity shear and buoyancy gradient. Using the approach of Helfand and Labraga (J Atmos Sci 45:113–132, 1988), we develop regularized stability functions for the TKESV scheme that reveal no pathological behaviour over their entire parameter space. The physical meaning of the regularization procedure and its relation to non-linear parametrizations of the pressure-scrambling terms and to weak non-equilibrium hypothesis are discussed. Finally, realizability of turbulence closures is considered within a more general framework of the moments problem of the probability theory.
Abscisic Acid-Induced Autophagy Selectively via MAPK/JNK Signalling Pathway in Glioblastoma
Authors: Zhou Nan , Wei Zixuan , Qi Zengxin , Chen Liang
Published: June 2020

As a widely known plant hormone, Abscisic acid plays an important role in the progress of planting cell and their stress response. Recently, we reported that ABA might play an anti-cancer role in glioma tissues. In the present study, the molecular mechanism of ABA anti-cancer was further explored in glioblastoma cells. By measuring LC3 puncta formation and conversion in glioblastoma cells, inhibiting the autophagic pathway, targeting the essential autophagic modulator beclin 1 with RNA interference, and analysing cellular morphology via transmission electron microscopy, we found that ABA-treated glioblastoma cells exhibited the features of autophagy. Specifically, ABA-induced autophagy in glioblastoma cells was mediated by the MAPK/JNK signalling pathway rather than the PI3K/AKT/mTOR axis. Moreover, the inhibition or knockdown of JNK specifically blocked ABA-induced autophagic cell death. ABA-induced autophagy was further confirmed in tumour-bearing mice and was accompanied by the inhibition of glioma growth in vivo. This report is the first to describe autophagy induced by ABA and mediated by the MAPK/JNK pathway in human cancer cells and tumour-bearing mice. These results may shed some light in new therapeutic strategies of glioma.
Assessing the Measurement Invariance of the Inventory of Callous-Unemotional Traits in School Students in China and the United Kingdom
Authors: Allen Jennifer L. , Shou Yiyun , Wang Meng-Cheng , Bird Elisabeth
Published: June 2020

The current study investigated the measurement invariance of the Inventory of Callous-Unemotional Traits in school-attending youth in the UK (N = 437) and China (N = 364). The original 24-item ICU and five shortened versions proposed in previous studies were tested and compared using confirmatory factor analysis in the UK sample. Results indicated that the original ICU was a poor fit in the UK sample. A shortened, 11-item version (ICU-11) featuring two factors (Callousness and Uncaring) provided the best fit and was invariant across gender in both the UK and Chinese samples. Comparisons of the ICU-11 in UK and Chinese school children revealed a similar item-factor combination and factor loadings, but different item thresholds. Findings indicate that the ICU-11 may be a preferable alternative to the original version, but that average ICU-11 scores may have a different meaning in the UK and China.
Oracle-based algorithms for binary two-stage robust optimization
Authors: Kämmerling Nicolas , Kurtz Jannis
Published: June 2020

In this work we study binary two-stage robust optimization problems with objective uncertainty. We present an algorithm to calculate efficiently lower bounds for the binary two-stage robust problem by solving alternately the underlying deterministic problem and an adversarial problem. For the deterministic problem any oracle can be used which returns an optimal solution for every possible scenario. We show that the latter lower bound can be implemented in a branch and bound procedure, where the branching is performed only over the first-stage decision variables. All results even hold for non-linear objective functions which are concave in the uncertain parameters. As an alternative solution method we apply a column-and-constraint generation algorithm to the binary two-stage robust problem with objective uncertainty. We test both algorithms on benchmark instances of the uncapacitated single-allocation hub-location problem and of the capital budgeting problem. Our results show that the branch and bound procedure outperforms the column-and-constraint generation algorithm.
Phase 1 dose-escalation study of a novel oral PI3K/mTOR dual inhibitor, LY3023414, in patients with cancer
Authors: Kondo Shunsuke , Tajimi Masaomi , Funai Tomohiko , Inoue Koichi , Asou Hiroya , Ranka Vinay Kumar , Wacheck Volker , Doi Toshihiko
Published: June 2020

LY3023414 is an oral, selective adenosine triphosphate-competitive inhibitor of class I phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase isoforms, mammalian target of rapamycin, and DNA-protein kinase in clinical development. We report results of a 3 + 3 dose-escalation Phase 1 study for twice-daily (BID) dosing of LY3023414 monotherapy in Japanese patients with advanced malignancies. The primary objective was to evaluate tolerability and safety of LY3023414. Secondary objectives were to evaluate pharmacokinetics and to explore antitumor activity. A total of 12 patients were enrolled and received 150 mg (n = 3) or 200 mg (n = 9) LY3023414 BID. Dose-limiting toxicities were only reported at 200 mg LY3023414 for 2 patients with Grade 3 stomatitis. Common treatment-related adverse events (AEs) across both the dose levels included stomatitis (75.0%), nausea (66.7%), decreased appetite (58.3%), diarrhea, and decreased platelet count (41.7%), and they were mostly mild or moderate in severity. Related AEs Grade ≥ 3 reported for ≥1 patient included anemia, stomatitis, hypophosphatemia, and hyperglycemia (n = 2, 16.7%). Two patients discontinued due to AEs (interstitial lung disease and stomatitis). No fatal events were reported. The pharmacokinetic profile of LY3023414 was characterized by rapid absorption and elimination. Five patients had a best overall response of stable disease (150 mg, n = 3; 200 mg, n = 2) for a 55.6% disease control rate. LY3023414 up to 200 mg BID is tolerable and safe in Japanese patients with advanced malignancies.
Stigmatized Bodies Near Lake Victoria: A Cultural Analysis of Institutions
Authors: Stroeken Koen
Published: June 2020

In recent intervention campaigns sensitizing about harmful practices in eastern Africa, the beliefs and institutions of rural populations are marked out: culture is the culprit. This article concentrates on the most targeted region, Sukuma-speaking communities in Tanzania, to verify the stigmatizing impact of institutions: whether bridewealth treats women as commodities, whether children withnsebudisorder are stigmatized, and why children living with albinism are stigmatized. Complementing the situational analysis of power relations, cultural analysis approaches institutions as established practices in a group and as generated from the palette of experiential frames constituting the cultural system prevailing in that group. The method’s sensitivity to intracultural diversity highlights the local capacity of applying cultural logics, ethically framing situations and creating new institutions, for instance by female healers protecting their clients against stigmatization. The method permits to conclude, for the cases studied, that institutions categorizing people prevent rather than cause the discreditable social status known as stigma.
What perspectives underlie ‘researcher identity’? A review of two decades of empirical studies
Authors: Castelló Montserrat , McAlpine Lynn , Sala-Bubaré Anna , Inouye Kelsey , Skakni Isabelle
Published: June 2020

Over the past two decades, identity has emerged as a concept framing studies of early career researcher experience. Yet, identity is an amorphous concept, understood and used in a range of ways. This systematic review aimed to unpack the underpinnings of the notion of researcher identity. The final sample consisted of 38 empirical articles published in peer-reviewed journals in the last 20 years. Analyses focused on (a) identifying the dimensions used to define researcher identity, and (b) characterising the meta-theories—the underlying assumptions of the research—in relation to these dimensions. We identified four different stances towards researcher identity (clusters), based on variation on the identity dimensions in relation to the meta-theories. We characterised these as (1) transitioning among identities, (2) balancing identity continuity and change, (3) personal identity development through time and (4) personal and stable identity. These stances incorporate thought-provoking nuances and complex conceptualisations of the notion of researcher identity, for instance, that meta-theory was insufficient to characterise researcher identity stance. The contribution of the study is first to be able to differentiate four characterizations of researcher identity—important given that many studies had not clearly expressed a stance. The second is the potential of the four dimensions to help characterise identity, in past as well as future research—thus a useful tool for those working in this area. Many questions remain, but perhaps the biggest is to what extent and under what conditions is identity a productive notion for understanding early career researcher experience?
Risk-Neutral Pricing for Arbitrage Pricing Theory
Authors: Carassus Laurence , Rásonyi Miklós
Published: June 2020

We consider infinite-dimensional optimization problems motivated by the financial model called Arbitrage Pricing Theory. Using probabilistic and functional analytic tools, we provide a dual characterization of the superreplication cost. Then, we show the existence of optimal strategies for investors maximizing their expected utility and the convergence of their reservation prices to the super-replication cost as their risk-aversion tends to infinity.
A Well-Defined Composite Indicator: An Application to Corporate Social Responsibility
Authors: Aparicio Juan , Kapelko Magdalena , Monge Juan F.
Published: June 2020

This paper introduces a model to construct composite indicators for performance evaluation of decision making units, which is based upon the determination of the least distance from each assessed unit to a frontier estimated by data envelopment analysis. This generates less demanding targets from a benchmarking point of view. The model also makes it possible to account for the existence of slacks in all the considered dimensions (sub-indicators), playing with the notion of Pareto efficiency. Additionally, our approach satisfies units invariance, translation invariance and strong monotonicity and ensures that the weights used for the aggregation of the sub-indicators are always strictly positive. All previous approaches based on data envelopment analysis have failed to satisfy at least one of these properties. We also implement a new version of the Russell output measure of technical efficiency working with full-dimensional efficient facets. Finally, the new approach is illustrated by an application to the sphere of corporate social responsibility, showing the main empirical implications of the theoretical properties.
Der Gasteiner Heilstollen und eine mögliche Ansteckungsgefahr im Therapiebereich mit Viren
Authors: Offenbächer M. , Hölzl B. , Gaisberger M. , Untner H. , Würzner R.
Published: June 2020

An SARS-CoV‑2 haben sich in den letzten Monaten weltweit Millionen von Menschen infiziert, Hunderttausende sind an den Folgen einer Infektion gestorben. Das Ende der Pandemie ist nicht absehbar und viele Menschen haben Ängste, sich in unterschiedlichen Settings zu infizieren. Der Gasteiner Heilstollen (GHST) ist eine weltweit einmalige ambulante Einrichtung mit den Wirkfaktoren Wärme, hohe Luftfeuchtigkeit und milde Radonstrahlung. In dieser werden jährlich ca. 12.000 Patienten u. a. mit entzündlich-rheumatischen, degenerativen Erkrankungen und chronischen Schmerzen behandelt. Wir haben deshalb die Literatur gesichtet und hinsichtlich einer möglicherweise erhöhten Ansteckungsgefährdung für Patienten während einer Therapie bzw. Kur im GHST analysiert. Aus unserer Sicht sind zum einen die klimatischen und physikalischen Verhältnisse im GHST insgesamt als virenfeindlich anzusehen, zum anderen führen die milde Radonhyperthermie über komplexe physiologische Prozesse sowie die geografische Lage des GHST zu positiven gesundheitlichen Effekten. Daher erscheint uns eine Ansteckungswahrscheinlichkeit für Viren im GHST in keinem Fall erhöht, sondern sogar deutlich geringer als in anderen Settings.
Ripretinib: First Approval
Authors: Dhillon Sohita
Published: June 2020

Ripretinib (QINLOCK™) is a novel type II tyrosine switch control inhibitor being developed by Deciphera Pharmaceuticals for the treatment of KIT proto-oncogene receptor tyrosine kinase (KIT)-driven and/or platelet derived growth factor receptor A (PDGFRA)-driven cancers, including gastrointestinal stromal tumour (GIST). Ripretinib inhibits KIT and PDGFRA kinase, including wild-type, primary and secondary mutations, as well as other kinases, such as PDGFRB, TIE2, VEGFR2 and BRAF. In May 2020, oral ripretinib received its first approval in the USA for the treatment of adult patients with advanced GIST who have received prior treatment with ≥ 3 kinase inhibitors, including imatinib. The US FDA, Health Canada and the Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration collaborated on the review of the ripretinib new drug application in this indication as part of Project Orbis; regulatory review in Australia and Canada is ongoing. Clinical development for GIST, solid tumours and systemic mastocytosis is underway in several countries worldwide. This article summarizes the milestones in the development of ripretinib leading to this first approval for the treatment of advanced GIST.
Baicalein Alleviates Erectile Dysfunction Associated with Streptozotocin-Induced Type I Diabetes by Ameliorating Endothelial Nitric Oxide Synthase Dysfunction, Inhibiting Oxidative Stress and Fibrosis
Authors: Chen Yinwei , Zhou Bingyan , Yu Zhe , Yuan Penghui , Sun Taotao , Gong Jianan , Zhang Yan , Wang Tao , Wang Shaogang , Liu Kang , Liu JiHong
Published: June 2020

Background

Management of diabetes mellitus induced-erectile dysfunction (DMED) is challenging because of its poor responses to phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitors. Increasingly important roles of 12-lipoxygenase (12-LOX) have been proven in diabetes mellitus.

Aim

To investigate 12-LOX activity and therapeutic effect of its inhibitor, baicalein (BE), on DMED.

Methods

Intraperitoneal streptozotocin injection was used to induce type I DM, and an apomorphine test was used to evaluate erectile function. In experiment A, we assessed 12-LOX expression alteration in the corpus cavernosum (CC) of rats with DMED of different levels of severity. In experiment B, rats with DMED were intraperitoneally injected with BE for 4 weeks, and control rats were injected with vehicles. The erectile function was tested by cavernous nerve stimulation before penile tissue was harvested. We performed Western blot, immunohistochemistry, immunofluorescence, Masson trichrome staining, and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays to measure related proteins in CC.

Main Outcome Measure

The main outcome measures included rectile response, histologic examination, and expression alteration of related proteins.

Results

12-LOX upregulation was associated with the progression of type I DMED. After 4 weeks treatment, compared with the DMED group, the DMED + BE group showed better erectile responses to cavernous nerve stimulation. In the DMED + BE group, significantly enhanced endothelial nitric oxide synthase/nitric oxide/cyclic guanosine monophosphate pathway, reduced 12-LOX expression, and inhibited p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase/arginase II/L-arginine pathway were showed in CC relative to the DMED group. In addition, overactivated oxidative stress and fibrosis in the DMED group were both partially ameliorated in the DMED + BE group.

Clinical Implications

BE may be considered as an effective therapy for DMED, but needs to be verified in future human investigations.

Strengths & Limitations

The role of 12-LOX and its inhibitor, BE, is firstly demonstrated in rats with type I DMED. However, the experimental data are derived from animal models with without evidences from cellular-based experiments.

Conclusion

12-LOX might serve as an important factor in the pathogenesis of type I DMED. BE alleviated erectile dysfunction in rats with type I DMED probably by inhibiting 12-LOX expression, ameliorating endothelial nitric oxide synthase dysfunction, as well as suppressing oxidative stress and fibrosis.
Skeptical Theism Proved
Authors: HENDRICKS PERRY
Published: June 2020

Skeptical theism is a popular response to arguments from evil. Many hold that it undermines a key inference often used by such arguments. However, the case for skeptical theism is often kept at an intuitive level: no one has offered an explicit argument for the truth of skeptical theism. In this article, I aim to remedy this situation: I construct an explicit, rigorous argument for the truth of skeptical theism.
Cancer screening and accessibility bias: people want screening when informed it saves no lives
Authors: HODSON NATHAN
Published: June 2020

Some cancer screening programs are built on contentious evidence, but the public are generally positive about screening. Many professional organizations have settled on a fudge: allow the people to decide for themselves. Given the potential limitations of individual decision-making, there is increasing support for helping individuals to make better decisions. This paper presents experimental data supporting the claim that individuals are largely unresponsive to data about screening and base their decisions upon factors that professionals would consider inappropriate reasons for screening. The most plausible explanation for this phenomenon comes from accessibility bias. Professionals can no longer sustain the argument that, with respect to cancer screening, individual choice reflects a meaningful expression of autonomy.
Sharing is caring: How EM Sim Cases (EMSimCases.com) has created a collaborative simulation education culture in Canada
Authors: Caners Kyla , Baylis Jared , Heyd Christopher , Chan Teresa
Published: June 2020

Free open access medical education (FOAM) resources in emergency medicine (EM) have grown exponentially in recent years. Within this movement, there are relatively few resources dedicated to simulation in EM. EM Sim Cases is a FOAM resource that was started in 2015 with the goal of creating a central database of simulation cases and scholarly articles that could be shared worldwide and thus reduce needless duplication of effort. Since 2015, EM Sim Cases has grown to have an annual average of 8,148 views per month from a total of 161 countries. It has an editorial team of 18 members as well as a leadership team of three. There is a robust, peer-reviewed case bank ranging in topic from neonatal resuscitation to end-of-life care as well as a number of simulation-relevant educational posts.
35 W continuous-wave Ho:YAG single-crystal fiber laser
Authors: Zhao Yongguang , Wang Li , Chen Weidong , Wang Jianlei , Song Qingsong , Xu Xiaodong , Liu Ying , Shen Deyuan , Xu Jun , Mateos Xavier , Loiko Pavel , Wang Zhengping , Xu Xinguang , Griebner Uwe , Petrov Valentin
Published: June 2020

We report on a high-power Ho:YAG single-crystal fiber (SCF) laser inband pumped by a high-brightness Tm-fiber laser at 1908 nm. The Ho:YAG SCF grown by the micro-pulling-down technique exhibits a propagation loss of

$0.05\pm 0.005~\text{cm}^{-1}$

at

$2.09~\unicode[STIX]{x03BC}\text{m}$

. A continuous-wave output power of 35.2 W is achieved with a slope efficiency of 42.7%, which is to the best of our knowledge the highest power ever reported from an SCF-based laser in the 2

$\unicode[STIX]{x03BC}\text{m}$

spectral range.
Letter-Writing as a Decolonial Feminist Praxis for Philosophical Writing
Authors: Acevedo-Zapata Diana María
Published: June 2020

According to Chandra Mohanty, there is no apolitical academy; academic and scholarly practices are in themselves political, insofar as they are inscribed in power and validation relations, which answer to and have effects upon the patriarchal, colonial, and capitalist structures to which they belong. In the case of philosophical writing, this means that the forms that regulate writing, that is, what determines how one must write in different contexts, are expressive of the power structures within philosophical academia. These power structures are upheld through time because of, among many other factors, the rendering invisible of the diversity of places of enunciation belonging to those who write and think in philosophy, and of the universalization of the privileges associated with said places of enunciation. In this article, I propose a way of writing letters that appeals to grammatical persons and their relation to the authors of the texts. Through this writing practice it is possible to make explicit the places of enunciation from which we write philosophy. This enables, first, making visible the privileges and oppressions of those writing philosophy; and second, generating small spaces of resistance and transformation of the oppressive power relations within the philosophical academy.
Impact of rapid diagnostics with antimicrobial stewardship support for children with positive blood cultures: A quasi-experimental study with time trend analysis
Authors: Tribble Alison C. , Gerber Jeffrey S. , Bilker Warren B. , Lautenbach Ebbing
Published: June 2020

Objective:

Evaluate the clinical impact of the implementation of VERIGENE gram-positive blood culture testing (BC-GP) coupled with antimicrobial stewardship result notification for children with positive blood cultures.

Design:

Quasi-experimental study.

Setting:

Quaternary children’s hospital.

Patients:

Hospitalized children aged 0–21 years with positive blood culture events 1 year before and 1 year after implementation of BC-GP testing.

Methods:

The primary outcome was time to optimal antibiotic therapy for positive blood cultures, defined as receiving definitive therapy without unnecessary antibiotics (pathogens) or no antibiotics (contaminants). Secondary outcomes were time to effective therapy, time to definitive therapy, and time to stopping vancomycin, length of stay, and 30-day mortality. Time-to-therapy outcomes before and after the intervention were compared using Cox regression models and interrupted time series analyses, adjusting for patient characteristics and trends over time. Gram-negative events were included as a nonequivalent dependent variable.

Results:

We included 264 preintervention events (191 gram-positive, 73 gram-negative) and 257 postintervention events (168 gram-positive, 89 gram-negative). The median age was 2.9 years (interquartile range, 0.3–10.1), and 418 pediatric patients (80.2%) had ≥1 complex chronic condition. For gram-positive isolates, implementation of BC-GP testing was associated with an immediate reduction in time to optimal therapy and time to stopping vancomycin for both analyses. BC-GP testing was associated with decreased time to definitive therapy in interrupted time series analysis but not Cox modeling. No such changes were observed for gram-negative isolates. No changes in time to effective therapy, length of stay, or mortality were associated with BC-GP.

Conclusions:

The implementation of BC-GP testing coupled with antimicrobial stewardship result notification was associated with decreased time to optimal therapy and time to stopping vancomycin for hospitalized children with gram-positive blood culture isolates.
INTIMACY IN MODERN BRITISH HISTORY
Authors: MORRIS GEORGE
Published: June 2020

Recent developments in the history of modern Britain have led to the emergence of a history of intimacy, whether or not it is recognized as such. This historiographical review argues that intimacy is a useful category of historical analysis. Thinking in terms of inter-relationships between different forms of intimacy allows us to think with greater conceptual clarity about these forms, as well as types of intimacy that are difficult to categorize. The first section reviews recent and significant contributions to the literature and seeks to draw out existing connections and crosscurrents between subfields. The second section turns to recent work on the histories of selfhood and the emotions and considers what thinking about intimacy might add to these fields; it then builds on this recent work to propose that one way to ‘do’ the history of intimacy is to think in terms of ‘intimate practices’.
The Neo-frontier in Contemporary Preparedness Novels
Authors: KAMINSKI JOHANNES
Published: June 2020

As the era of globalization and comfort ends, preparedness novels embrace humanity's dystopian future and leap at the chance for societal rejuvenation on more localized terms. The three textual case studies explored here put forward a value system derived from the lives of the pioneers and settlers. The frontier, a classic trope of American mythology, is reimagined as the neo-frontier, a time–space continuum located at the porous divide between civilization and wilderness. While this trope provides an antidote against consumer culture's perceived rootlessness and effeminacy, it also legitimizes problematic attitudes, including racism, sexism and a penchant for top-down hierarchies. By regressing to traditional models, the white man avoids succumbing to the excesses of savagery, for example cannibalism, and places himself outside historic time.
Information processing in the European Union’s Common Fisheries Policy
Authors: Princen Sebastiaan , Siderius Katrijn , Villasante Sebastián
Published: June 2020

The policy studies literature is divided on how information processing takes place in policy processes. Punctuated equilibrium theory claims that policymakers tend to process information disproportionately, giving more weight to some incoming signals than to others. By contrast, thermostatic models of policymaking argue that policymakers respond in a more proportionate way. In this paper, we analyse information processing in the adoption of Total Allowable Catches (TACs) under the European Union’s (EU) Common Fisheries Policy. Based on a novel measure for the proportionality of information processing, it shows that over time TACs have become more closely aligned with incoming signals about fish stocks. This development can be explained through a combination of changing discourses around fisheries conservation and institutional adjustments in EU fisheries policy. This analysis has implications for the debate between punctuated equilibrium and thermostatic models of policymaking and our understanding of the effectiveness of EU fisheries policies.
In Between Market and Charity: Child Domestic Work and Changing Labor Relations in Nineteenth-Century Ottoman Istanbul
Authors: Araz Yahya , Kokdaş İrfan
Published: June 2020

This article focuses on children taken by Istanbulite families for upbringing and employment in the Ottoman capital during the 1800–1900 period. It suggests that domestic child labor which was shaped by the concept of ‘charity’ and economic interests during the first half of the nineteenth century progressively turned into wage labor during the second half of the century. The study claims that the nineteenth century witnessed a transformation of labor relations in the domestic service market, implying the transition from reciprocal to commodified labor. The labor of children employed in domestic services underwent a monetization process throughout the nineteenth century. Parallel to this monetization, the status of children under foster care or in domestic service came to be determined by standardized legal contracts.