bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Salvage Ethnography in the Financial Sector
Authors: Hearn Jonathan
Published: January 2018

This book takes ethnographic data collected in 2001-2, during a year’s fieldwork in the Bank of Scotland and HBOS, and revisits it from the perspective of the present, that is, after the global banking and financial crisis that emerged around 2008 with devastating effects on several banks, including this one. It focuses on the year in which Bank of Scotland merged with Halifax to form HBOS, scrutinising an encounter between two very different organisational cultures, embedded in Scottish and English national identities that are often symbolically opposed. Through this ethnographic setting it explores how bank staff coped with and made sense of rapid organisational change, and how those changes prefigured the crisis that was to come. That change was part of wider social and economic changes often associated with neoliberalism, heightened competition, and embattled social solidarity. Thus the study in a sense salvages a record of a disappearing banking culture, which is symptomatic of wider social change. The book contributes to our understanding of the stereotypes and mutual perceptions that shape Scottish and English national identities, while using the interpenetrating national and organisational contexts to critically examine the concept of culture. It also engages in an innovative way with the perennial problem of relating small-scale ethnographic data to large-scale historical change. Written clearly and concisely, with narrative momentum, it will appeal to students and scholars interested in the banking and economic crisis, national identity in Scotland and the UK, the nature of culture, and the challenges of ethnographic research.
Tasso's Art and Afterlives
Authors: Lawrence Jason
Published: January 2018

This interdisciplinary book examines the literary, artistic and biographical afterlives in England of the great Italian poet Torquato Tasso, from before his death in 1595 to the end of the nineteenth century. Focusing predominantly on the impact of his once famous epic poem Gerusalemme liberata across a broad spectrum of arts, it aims to stimulate a revival of interest in an undeservedly neglected poetic masterpiece and its author, more than fifty years after the last book-length account of the poet in English.
Tasso’s poem is remembered in Anglophone criticism today, if at all, as a principal model for the celebrated Bowre of Blisse episode in Spenser’s The Faerie Queene, a complex literary appropriation which this study re-appraises thoroughly, in relation to both previously undetected contemporary English poetic responses to Tasso’s enchantress Armida, as in Daniel’s The Complaint of Rosamond, and visual representations of the episode across Europe. The book also traces the reception in England of notable seventeenth-century depictions of scenes from Tasso by Van Dyck and Poussin, and explores the Italian poem’s prominent role in the development of opera on the London stage, in works by Dennis and Handel. A second strand focuses on the numerous English responses to Tasso’s troubled life in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, biographical and literary, exemplified in Byron’s memorable impersonation of the poet’s voice in The Lament of Tasso.
Conflict, Peace and Mental Health
Authors: Bolton David
Published: January 2018

What are the human consequences of war, conflict and terrorism, and what are the appropriate policy and service responses? This book seeks to provide some answers to these important questions, drawing upon over 25 years’ work by the author in Northern Ireland and elsewhere. Focusing on the work undertaken following the Omagh bombing in 1998, the book describes how needs were assessed and understood, how evidence-based therapy services were put in place and the training and education programmes that were developed to assist first those communities affected by the Omagh bombing - and later the wider population affected by the years of conflict. The author places the mental health needs of conflict-affected victims and communities at the heart of the political and peace processes that follow when conflicts end. This is a practical book and will be of particular interest to those planning for and responding to conflict-related disasters and terrorism, policy makers, service commissioners and providers, politicians, diplomats, civil servants, leaders of religion, peace builders and peace makers. It also includes an extensive overview of the efforts to understand the mental health impact of the years of violence in Northern Ireland, reviewing for example, the impacts of loss and PTSD, why it seemed to take so long to recognise the impact, and the challenges of undertaking research in a community that is in violent conflict.
Children Born of War in the Twentieth Century
Authors: Lee Sabine
Published: January 2018

This book explores the integration of children born of war (CBOW) into post-conflict societies by investigating children fathered by foreign soldiers in several conflicts spanning much of the 20th and 21st centuries: the Second World War, the Vietnam War, the Bosnian War, the sub-Saharan African conflicts around the Rwandan Genocide and the LRA conflict and late 20th century peacekeeping operations. Using these case studies as starting points, the volume explores the challenges faced by the children themselves and their mothers within their post-conflict receptor communities by looking at the development of experience over time and across different geographical regions. It contextualises historically the conflict and post-conflict policies towards children born of war and their families and discusses the consequences of such policies. In particular, it analyses comparatively childhood adversities and psychosocial challenges as well as changes to the legal and political environments while being mindful of giving the CBOW themselves a voice through participatory research methods. The book is based on extensive archival research including archival research in Germany, France, the United Kingdom, the United States Canada and the Netherlands as well as oral history research among CBOW in the UK, US, Germany and Uganda. Its insights will be of value not only for academic scholars in history, political and social science, development studies and psychology, but also for NGO practitioners, policy makers and those engaged in advocacy.
Citizen Now
Authors: Matto Elizabeth C.
Published: January 2018

Citizen now offers a comprehensive description of the composition and behavior of the Millennial Generation, an explanation and critique of the study of youth engagement, and a unique approach and methodology for appreciating how and why “citizen now” engages in politics and democracy. The text provides readers with a complete picture of the demographics and participation of Millennials and, through original analysis of newspaper content, a depiction of the frame through which the generation has been viewed. Although Millennials have been the object of much study and despite the despite the fairly common approach and methodology utilized by scholars, contrasting theoretical frameworks have limited our appreciation of their connection to politics. Unlike much of the research in this field, Citizen now considers youth political participation from the perspective of young adults themselves – specifically, young adults who’ve organized around an issue of great concern to Millennials, their economic well-being. By focusing not only on the generation’s actions but on the strategies and goals of these youth-led groups, the text offers both a path for future research and practical guidance on how to engage “citizen now” in politics and democracy.
Factories for Learning
Authors: Kulz Christy
Published: January 2018

This book draws on empirical research based at Dreamfields Academy, a celebrated secondary academy in a large English city, to explore how the heightened marketization and centralization of education instigated through academisation is reproducing raced, classed and gendered inequalities. Over half of England’s secondary schools are now academies that receive funding directly from central government and operate as autonomous businesses. Academies’ impact on achievement levels has been hotly debated, but the social and cultural changes prompted by this model have received less scrutiny.Dreamfields’ ‘structure liberates’ ethos claims to free students from a culture of poverty through hard discipline. Its headteacher assumes the role of business executive, saviour, pioneering cowboy and military commander leading a redemptive troupe of teachers who act as ‘surrogate parents’ salvaging ‘urban children’. With its regimented routines and outstanding results, Dreamfields has received praise from across the political spectrum. This book examines the complex stories underlying the glossy veneer of success by exploring how persistent structural inequalities are concealed beneath the colour-blind rhetoric of aspirational citizenship. The book traces how students, teachers and parents navigate the everyday demands of Dreamfields’ results-driven conveyor belt as raced and classed inequalities are reshaped in new ways and spaces of democratic participation are foreclosed.The book explores how the hopes and dreams of students, parents and teachers are harnessed and mobilized to enact insidious forms of social control, as education develops new sites and discourses of surveillance.
The Changing Spaces of Television Acting
Authors: Hewett Richard
Published: January 2018

Why study television acting? While works focusing on cinema performance have increased in recent years, small screen drama has been largely neglected – despite the fact that developments in acting style provide as valuable an index of the times and places in which they were created as any other aspect of production. The Changing Spaces of Television Acting addresses this lack by providing an overview of historical changes in performance style from the live era to the present day. Utilised as case studies are programmes from three diverse eras of television production: The Quatermass Experiment (BBC, 1953), which was transmitted live; Doctor Who (BBC, 1963-89), pre-recorded ‘as live’ on videotape; and Survivors (BBC, 1975-77), which swiftly adopted an Outside Broadcast ‘rehearse/record’ model. Each was also re-made in the 2000s, allowing for both a chronological study and a ‘then-and-now’ comparison of television acting. Archive research into production and reception is combined with textual analysis and interviews with actors and production personnel to examine the effects of the shift from multi-camera studio production to single camera film location work. The result is the first book to investigate not only changes in acting style for television drama, but also the underlying factors which influenced them, from production process and technology to direction, actor training and experience. Only by fully comprehending the conditions under which performances are produced can we understand and appreciate the resulting acting style; The Changing Spaces of Television Acting is the first book to comprehensively address this neglected area of research.
Environment, Labour and Capitalism at Sea
Authors: Howard Penny McCall
Published: January 2018

How do fishers extend their bodies and senses to work beneath the surface of the sea in places they cannot see, have never been, and could not survive in? And at what risk? This book explores how fishers make the sea productive through their labour, using technologies ranging from wooden boats to digital GPS plotters to extend their senses and range of effective work, in the process creating familiar places in a seemingly hostile environment. It shows how the lives of fishers are deeply affected by capitalist commodity relations. Drawing on years of participant observation at sea in the west of Scotland, the author worked on a Nephrops prawn trawler, lived on a boat in harbours and voyaged along the coast. The book makes a unique contribution to understanding human-environment relations, examining the places fishers create and name at sea, as well as fishers’ technologies and navigation practices. Combining anthropology, phenomenology and political economy, the ethnography offers new approaches for analyses of human-environment relations and technologies in a Marxist framework. It also contributes to the social studies of fisheries through an analysis of how deeply fishing practices and social relations are shaped by political economy.
Evaluating Parental Power
Authors: Fives Allyn
Published: January 2018

Is parents’ power over their children legitimate? And what role do both theoretical analysis and practical judgement play when we make such normative evaluations? While this book adds to the growing literature on parents, children, families, and the State, it does so by focusing on one issue, the legitimacy of parents’ power. It also takes seriously the challenge posed by moral pluralism, and considers the role of both theoretical rationality and practical judgement in resolving moral dilemmas associated with parental power.
This book makes a number of conceptual and methodological innovations. While parental power is usually conceptualised as form of paternalism, this book shows that non-paternalistic parental power can be legitimate as well. While parental power is often assumed to involve interference with children’s liberty, in fact there is a plurality of forms of parental power. And while political theorists offer general rules to resolve dilemmas arising between competing moral claims, it is demonstrated here that, in the evaluation of parental power, practical judgements are required in specific cases. A number of such cases of parental power are explored here at length, including parental licenses, children’s informed consent, and civic education.
The primary intended market for this book is advanced undergraduate and postgraduate students and established academics, in particular those with an interest in practical and applied ethics, contemporary political theory, moral theory, social theory, the sociology of childhood, political sociology, social work, and social policy.
Neoteny and Social Cognition: A Neuroscientific Perspective on Embodiment
Authors: Gallese Vittorio
Published: January 2018

The chapter will address the notion of embodiment from a neuroscientific perspective, by emphasizing the crucial role played by bodily relations and sociality on the evolution and development of distinctive features of human cognition. The neurophysiological level of description is here accounted for in terms of bodily-formatted representations and discussed by replying to criticisms recently raised against this notion. The neuroscientific approach here proposed is critically framed and discussed against the background of the Evo-Devo focus on a little explored feature of human beings in relation to social cognition: their neotenic character. Neoteny refers to the slowed or delayed physiological and/or somatic development of an individual. Such development is largely dependent on the quantity and quality of interpersonal relationships the individual is able to establish with her/his adult peers. It is proposed that human neoteny further supports the crucial role played by embodiment, here spelled out by adopting the explanatory framework of embodied simulation, in allowing humans to engage in social relations, and make sense of others’ behaviors.This approach can fruitfully be used to shed new light onto non propositional forms of communication and social understanding and onto distinctive human forms of meaning making, like the experience of man-made fictional worlds.
Resigned Activism
Authors: Lora-Wainwright Anna
Published: January 2018

Pollution is one of the most pressing issues facing contemporary China and among the most prominent causes for unrest. Much of industry and mining takes place in rural areas, yet we know little about how rural communities affected by severe pollution make sense of it and the diverse form of activism they embrace. This book describes some of these engagements with pollution through three in-depth case studies based on the author’s fieldwork and an analysis of “cancer villages” examined in existing social science accounts. It challenges assumptions that villagers are ignorant about pollution or fully complicit with it and it looks beyond high-profile cases and beyond single strategies. It examines how villagers’ concerns and practices evolve over time and how pollution may become normalised. Through the concept of “resigned activism”, it advocates rethinking conventional approaches to activism to encompass less visible forms of engagement. It offers insights into the complex dynamics of popular contention, environmental movements and their situatedness within local and national political economies. Describing a likely widespread scenario across much of industrialised rural China, this book provides a window onto the staggering human costs of development and the deeply uneven distribution of costs and benefits. It portrays rural environmentalism and its limitations as prisms through which to study key issues surrounding contemporary Chinese culture and society, such as state responsibility, social justice, ambivalence towards development and modernisation and some of the new fault lines of inequality and social conflict which they generate.
Endosomal Rab cycles regulate Parkin-mediated mitophagy
Authors: Yamano Koji , Wang Chunxin , Sarraf Shireen A , Münch Christian , Kikuchi Reika , Noda Nobuo N , Hizukuri Yohei , Kanemaki Masato T , Harper Wade , Tanaka Keiji , Matsuda Noriyuki , Youle Richard J
Published: January 2018

Damaged mitochondria are selectively eliminated by mitophagy. Parkin and PINK1, gene products mutated in familial Parkinson’s disease, play essential roles in mitophagy through ubiquitination of mitochondria. Cargo ubiquitination by E3 ubiquitin ligase Parkin is important to trigger selective autophagy. Although autophagy receptors recruit LC3-labeled autophagic membranes onto damaged mitochondria, how other essential autophagy units such as ATG9A-integrated vesicles are recruited remains unclear. Here, using mammalian cultured cells, we demonstrate that RABGEF1, the upstream factor of the endosomal Rab GTPase cascade, is recruited to damaged mitochondria via ubiquitin binding downstream of Parkin. RABGEF1 directs the downstream Rab proteins, RAB5 and RAB7A, to damaged mitochondria, whose associations are further regulated by mitochondrial Rab-GAPs. Furthermore, depletion of RAB7A inhibited ATG9A vesicle assembly and subsequent encapsulation of the mitochondria by autophagic membranes. These results strongly suggest that endosomal Rab cycles on damaged mitochondria are a crucial regulator of mitophagy through assembling ATG9A vesicles.
Variation in natural exposure to anopheles mosquitoes and its effects on malaria transmission
Authors: Guelbéogo Wamdaogo M , Gonçalves Bronner Pamplona , Grignard Lynn , Bradley John , Serme Samuel S , Hellewell Joel , Lanke Kjerstin , Zongo Soumanaba , Sepúlveda Nuno , Soulama Issiaka , Wangrawa Dimitri W , Yakob Laith , Sagnon N'Falé , Bousema Teun , Drakeley Chris
Published: January 2018

Variation in biting frequency by Anopheles mosquitoes can explain some of the heterogeneity in malaria transmission in endemic areas. In this study in Burkina Faso, we assessed natural exposure to mosquitoes by matching the genotype of blood meals from 1066 mosquitoes with blood from residents of local households. We observed that the distribution of mosquito bites exceeded the Pareto rule (20/80) in two of the three surveys performed (20/85, 76, and 96) and, at its most pronounced, is estimated to have profound epidemiological consequences, inflating the basic reproduction number of malaria by 8-fold. The distribution of bites from sporozoite-positive mosquitoes followed a similar pattern, with a small number of individuals within households receiving multiple potentially infectious bites over the period of a few days. Together, our findings indicate that heterogeneity in mosquito exposure contributes considerably to heterogeneity in infection risk and suggest significant variation in malaria transmission potential.
Suboptimal extracellular pH values alter DNA damage response to induced double‐strand breaks
Authors: Massonneau Julien , Ouellet Camille , Lucien Fabrice , Dubois Claire M. , Tyler Jessica , Boissonneault Guylain
Published: January 2018

Conditions leading to unrepaired DNA double‐stranded breaks are potent inducers of genetic instability. Systemic conditions may lead to fluctuation of hydrogen ions in the cellular microenvironment, and we show that small variations in extracellular pH, termed suboptimal pHe, can decrease the efficiency of DNA repair in the absence of intracellular pH variation. Recovery from bleomycin‐induced DNA double‐stranded breaks in fibroblasts proceeded less efficiently at suboptimal pHe values ranging from 7.2 to 6.9, as shown by the persistence of repair foci, reduction of H4K16 acetylation, and chromosomal instability, while senescence or apoptosis remained undetected. By allowing escape from these protective mechanisms, suboptimal pHe may therefore enhance the genotoxicity of double‐stranded breaks, leading to genetic instability.
Silk‐Based Bioinks for 3D Bioprinting
Authors: Chawla Shikha , Midha Swati , Sharma Aarushi , Ghosh Sourabh
Published: January 2018

3D bioprinting field is making remarkable progress; however, the development of critical sized engineered tissue construct is still a farfetched goal. Silk fibroin offers a promising choice for bioink material. Nature has imparted several unique structural features in silk protein to ensure spinnability by silkworms or spider. Researchers have modified the structure–property relationship by reverse engineering to further improve shear thinning behavior, high printability, cytocompatible gelation, and high structural fidelity. In this review, it is attempted to summarize the recent advancements made in the field of 3D bioprinting in context of two major sources of silk fibroin: silkworm silk and spider silk (native and recombinant). The challenges faced by current approaches in processing silk bioinks, cellular signaling pathways modulated by silk chemistry and secondary conformations, gaps in knowledge, and future directions acquired for pushing the field further toward clinic are further elaborated.
Architected Lattices with High Stiffness and Toughness via Multicore–Shell 3D Printing
Authors: Mueller Jochen , Raney Jordan R. , Shea Kristina , Lewis Jennifer A.
Published: January 2018

The ability to create architected materials that possess both high stiffness and toughness remains an elusive goal, since these properties are often mutually exclusive. Natural materials, such as bone, overcome such limitations by combining different toughening mechanisms across multiple length scales. Here, a new method for creating architected lattices composed of core–shell struts that are both stiff and tough is reported. Specifically, these lattices contain orthotropic struts with flexible epoxy core–brittle epoxy shell motifs in the absence and presence of an elastomeric silicone interfacial layer, which are fabricated by a multicore–shell, 3D printing technique. It is found that architected lattices produced with a flexible core‐elastomeric interface‐brittle shell motif exhibit both high stiffness and toughness.
Functional Materials and Systems for Rewritable Paper
Authors: Khazi Mohammed Iqbal , Jeong Woomin , Kim Jong‐Man
Published: January 2018

“Paper” has greatly contributed to the development and spread of civilization. Even in today's “digitalized” world, paper continues to play a key role in socioeconomic growth, as is evidenced by the growth in global paper consumption. Unfortunately, the use of paper has its cost in terms of the exhaustion of world's natural resources. Consequently, new, cost‐effective technologies that preserve natural resources are required for this purpose. Functional materials have revolutionized the way people think about developing new technologies. Especially important in this regard are “smart reactive materials,” which are capable of actively responding to external stimuli such as heat, light, mechanical stress, and specific molecular orientations. Moreover, functionalized chromogenic materials, which undergo reversible color switching upon external stimulation, have attracted great attention in the context of developing rewritable paper. Here, investigations of various materials and systems that are devised for use as rewritable paper are reviewed with the hope that the coverage will stimulate and guide future studies in this area.
Biofunctionalized “Kiwifruit‐Assembly” of Oxidoreductases in Mesoporous ZnO/Carbon Nanoparticles for Efficient Asymmetric Catalysis
Authors: Zhang Rongzhen , Jiang Jiawei , Zhou Junping , Xu Yan , Xiao Rong , Xia Xinhui , Rao Zhiming
Published: January 2018

A mesoporous ZnO/carbon composite is designed for coimmobilization of two oxidoreductases involving a novel “kiwifruit‐assembly” pattern. The coimmobilization of (S)‐carbonyl reductase II‐glucose dehydrogenase on nanoparticles (SCRII–GDHnano) exhibits 40–50% higher specific activity than the free enzyme and significantly improves stabilities of enzymes to heat, pH and solvents. It performs asymmetric catalysis of 75 × 10−3m substrate with a perfect yield of 100% and an excellent enantioselectivity of 99.9% within 1 h. SCRII–GDHnano gives an over 72% yield and 99.9% enantioselectivity after it is reused for ten times. Even with a highly concentrated (400 × 10−3m) substrate, it shows about 60% yield and 99.9% enantioselectivity within 4 h. SCRII–GDHnano presents 4.5–8.0‐fold higher productivity in 2.0–8.0‐fold shorter reaction time than the free enzyme. This work provides a general, facile, and unique approach for the immobilization of two oxidoreductases and gives high catalytic efficiency, long‐term and good recycling stabilities by triggering radical proton‐coupled electron transfer.
Catalytic Formation of Nitric Oxide Mediated by Ti–Cu Coatings Provides Multifunctional Interfaces for Cardiovascular Applications
Authors: Wang Qing , Akhavan Behnam , Jing Fengjuan , Cheng Dan , Sun Hong , Xie Dong , Leng Yongxiang , Bilek Marcela M. , Huang Nan
Published: January 2018

An ideal surface of a cardiovascular device, such as a stent, must be multifunctional: promoting endothelialization to regenerate the vessel's natural endothelial cell (EC) lining; inhibiting the proliferation of smooth muscle cells that occlude vessels; and simultaneously mitigating thrombosis that leads to the spontaneous formation of blood clots. Here it is reported on Ti–Cu interfaces that demonstrate this required multifunctionality through the controlled release of copper ions that induce the catalytic formation of nitric oxide (NO). Ti–Cu coatings, deposited on stainless steel substrates via direct current magnetron sputtering, demonstrate a significantly higher NO‐release catalytic activity compared to Ti coatings due to release of copper ions. Ti–Cu surfaces that stimulate optimum catalytic formation of NO significantly decrease smooth muscle cell proliferation, inhibit platelet adhesion, and improve endothelial cell EC compatibility. The development of such catalytic surfaces through a simple sputtering method holds great promise for the fabrication of advanced multifunctional cardiovascular devices such as stents and coronary implants.
Iron‐Mediated Azidomethylation or Azidotrideuteromethylation of Active Alkenes with Azidotrimethylsilane and Dimethyl Sulfoxide
Authors: Zhang Rui , Yu Haifei , Li Zejiang , Yan Qinqin , Li Pan , Wu Jilai , Qi Jing , Jiang Menglu , Sun Lixian
Published: January 2018

A radical azidomethylation of various alkenes with azidotrimethylsilane and dimethyl sulfoxide has been achieved under mild reaction conditions, and the method efficiently introduces common and valuable azide and methyl groups into organic compounds. It offers a convenient method for preparing organic azides, which can be easily transformed into related amine derivatives and N‐heterocycles. Control experiments such as capturing of the intermediate and gram‐scale reactions of the developed system as well as further transformations of the products of the reaction are presented. And a free radical is involved in the reaction process.

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Ancient and recent Middle Eastern maternal genetic contribution to North Africa as viewed by mtDNA diversity in Tunisian Arab populations
Authors: Elkamel Sarra , Boussetta Sami , Khodjet‐El‐Khil Houssein , Benammar Elgaaied Amel , Cherni Lotfi
Published: January 2018

Objectives

Through previous mitochondrial DNA studies, the Middle Eastern maternal genetic contribution to Tunisian populations appears limited. In fact, most of the studied communities were cosmopolitan, or of Berber or Andalusian origin. To provide genetic evidence for the actual contribution of Middle Eastern mtDNA lineages to Tunisia, we focused on two Arab speaking populations from Kairouan and Wesletia known to belong to an Arab genealogical lineage.

Materials and Methods

A total of 114 samples were sequenced for the mtDNA HVS‐I and HVS‐II regions. Using these data, we evaluated the distribution of Middle Eastern haplogroups in the study populations, constructed interpolation maps, and established phylogenetic networks allowing estimation of the coalescence time for three specific Middle Eastern subclades (R0a, J1b, and T1).

Results

Both studied populations displayed North African genetic structure and Middle Eastern lineages with a frequency of 12% and 28.12% in Kairouan and Wesletia, respectively. TMRCA estimates for haplogroups T1a, R0a, and J1b in Tunisian Arabian samples were around 15 000 YBP, 9000 to 5000 YBP, and 960 to 600 YBP, respectively.

Conclusions

The Middle Eastern maternal genetic contribution to Tunisian populations, as to other North African populations, occurred mostly in deep prehistory. They were brought in different migration waves during the Upper Paleolithic, probably with the expansion of Iberomaurusian culture, and during Epipaleolithic and Early Neolithic periods, which are concomitant with the Capsian civilization. Middle Eastern lineages also came to Tunisia during the recent Islamic expansion of the 7th CE and the subsequent massive Bedouin migration during the 11th CE.
Diagnostic criteria for disorders of arousal: A video‐polysomnographic assessment
Authors: Lopez Régis , Shen Yun , Chenini Sofiene , Rassu Anna Laura , Evangelista Elisa , Barateau Lucie , Jaussent Isabelle , Dauvilliers Yves
Published: January 2018

Objective

To assess video‐polysomnographic (vPSG) criteria and their cutoff values for the diagnosis of disorders of arousal (DOAs; sleepwalking, sleep terror).

Methods

One hundred sixty adult patients with DOAs and 50 sex‐ and age‐matched healthy participants underwent a clinical evaluation and vPSG assessment to quantify slow wave sleep (SWS) interruptions (SWS fragmentation index, slow/mixed and fast arousal ratios, and indexes per hour) and the associated behaviors. First, a case–control analysis was performed in 100 patients and the 50 controls to define the optimal cutoff values using receiver operating characteristic curves. Their sensitivity was then assessed in the other 60 patients with DOAs.

Results

The SWS fragmentation index and the mixed, slow, and slow/mixed arousal indexes and ratios were higher in patients with DOAs than controls. The highest area under the curve (AUC) values were obtained for the SWS fragmentation and slow/mixed arousal indexes (AUC = 0.88 and 0.90, respectively). The SWS fragmentation index cutoff value of 6.8/h reached a sensitivity of 79% and a specificity of 82%. The slow/mixed arousal index had a sensitivity of 94% for the 2.5/h cutoff, and 100% specificity for 6/h. Both parameters showed good interrater agreement, and their sensitivities were confirmed in the second group of patients. Combining electroencephalographic parameters and video‐based behavioral analyses increased the correct classification rate up to 91.3%.

Interpretation

Frequent slow/mixed arousals in SWS and complex behaviors during vPSG are strongly associated with DOAs, and could be promising biomarkers for the diagnosis of non–rapid eye movement parasomnias. Ann Neurol 2018;83:341–351
Highly Fluorescent Chiral N‐S‐Doped Carbon Dots from Cysteine: Affecting Cellular Energy Metabolism
Authors: Li Feng , Li Yiye , Yang Xiao , Han Xuexiang , Jiao Yang , Wei Taotao , Yang Dayong , Xu Huaping , Nie Guangjun
Published: January 2018

Cysteine‐based chiral optically active carbon dots (CDs) and their effects on cellular energy metabolism, which is vital for essential cellular functions, have been barely reported. A green and effective synthesis strategy for chiral N‐S‐doped CDs (fluorescence quantum yield ca. 41.26 %) based on hydrothermal treatment of l‐ or d‐cysteine at as low as 60 °C has been developed. This suggested that cysteine was instable in aqueous solutions and acts as a warning for high‐temperature synthesis of nanomaterials using cysteine as stabilizer. Human bladder cancer T24 cells treated with l‐CDs showed up‐regulated glycolysis, while d‐CDs had no similar effects. In contrast, no disturbance to the basal mitochondrial aerobic respiration of T24 cells was caused by either chiral CD.
India's Approaches to the South China Sea: Priorities and Balances
Authors: Granados Ulises
Published: January 2018

The research inquiries into New Delhi's current approaches to Maritime Asia regional security in general and the South China Sea from the perspective of an Indian Act East Policy operating in the East Asian security supercomplex. Shaped by theoretical insights from defensive realism and security studies and based on empirical analysis of India's policy decisions from 2014 to the present, the research evaluates India's reach and limitations over its diplomatic and naval strategic policies with key Southeast Asian and extra regional states, mainly Vietnam, the United States and Japan. While identifying the need to update current India's naval strategy to better protect freedom of navigation in the South China Sea, the analysis finds relevant incentives for a closer India–China cooperative engagement so as to both improve the security architecture in this maritime region and for the sake of India's own security at large.
Mavrilimumab, a Fully Human Granulocyte–Macrophage Colony‐Stimulating Factor Receptor α Monoclonal Antibody
Authors: Burmester Gerd R. , McInnes Iain B. , Kremer Joel M. , Miranda Pedro , Vencovský Jiří , Godwood Alex , Albulescu Marius , Michaels M. Alex , Guo Xiang , Close David , Weinblatt Michael
Published: January 2018

Objective

Mavrilimumab, a human monoclonal antibody, targets granulocyte–macrophage colony‐stimulating factor receptor α. We undertook to determine the long‐term safety and efficacy of mavrilimumab in rheumatoid arthritis patients in 2 phase IIb studies (1071 and 1107) and in 1 open‐label extension study (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT01712399).

Methods

In study 1071, patients with an inadequate response to disease‐modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) received mavrilimumab (30, 100, or 150 mg) or placebo every other week plus methotrexate. In study 1107, patients with an inadequate response to anti–tumor necrosis factor agents and/or DMARDs received 100 mg mavrilimumab every other week or 50 mg golimumab every 4 weeks plus methotrexate. Patients entering the open‐label extension study received 100 mg mavrilimumab every other week plus methotrexate. Long‐term safety and efficacy of mavrilimumab were assessed.

Results

A total of 442 patients received mavrilimumab (14 of 245 patients from study 1071, 9 of 70 patients from study 1107, and 52 of 397 patients from the open‐label extension study discontinued mavrilimumab treatment throughout the studies). The cumulative safety exposure was 899 patient‐years; the median duration of mavrilimumab treatment was 2.5 years (range 0.1–3.3 years). The most common treatment‐emergent adverse events (AEs) were nasopharyngitis (n = 69; 7.68 per 100 patient‐years) and bronchitis (n = 51; 5.68 per 100 patient‐years). At weeks 74 and 104, 3.5% and 6.2% of patients, respectively, demonstrated reduction in forced expiratory volume in 1 second, while 2.9% and 3.4% of patients, respectively, demonstrated reduction in forced vital capacity (>20% reduction from baseline to <80% predicted). Most pulmonary changes were transient and only infrequently associated with AEs. Mavrilimumab at 100 mg every other week demonstrated sustained efficacy; at week 122, 65.0% of patients achieved a Disease Activity Score in 28 joints using the C‐reactive protein level (DAS28‐CRP) of <3.2, and 40.6% of patients achieved a DAS28‐CRP of <2.6.

Conclusion

Long‐term treatment with mavrilimumab maintained response and was well‐tolerated with no increased incidence of treatment‐emergent AEs. Safety data were comparable with those from both phase IIb qualifying studies.
Insights on the structure‐activity relationship of peptides derived from Sticholysin II
Authors: Lima de Oliveira Aline , Maffud Cilli Eduardo , Ros Uris , Crusca Jr Edson , Lanio María Eliana , Alvarez Carlos , Schreier Shirley , Aguiar Pertinhez Thelma , Spisni Alberto
Published: January 2018

Sticholysin II (StII) is a pore‐forming actinoporin from the sea anemone Stichodactyla helianthus. A mechanistic model of its action has been proposed: proteins bind to cell membrane, insert their N‐termini into the lipid core and assemble into homo‐tetramer pores responsible for host‐cell death. Because very likely the first 10 residues of StII N‐terminus are critical for membrane penetration, to dissect the molecular details of that functionality, we studied two synthetic peptides: StII1‐30 and StII16‐35. They show diverse haemolytic and candidacidal activity that correlate with distinct orientations in SDS micelles. NMR shows that StII1‐30 partly inserts into the micelle, while StII16‐35 lays on the micelle surface. These results justify the diverse concentration dependence of their candidacidal activity supposing a different mechanism of action and providing new hints on StII lytic activity at molecular level. Biotechnological application of these peptides, focused on the development of therapeutic immunocomplexes, may be envisaged.
Intentional longitudinal and side‐cell stent fractures: Intermediate term follow up
Authors: Agrawal Hitesh , Qureshi Athar M. , Justino Henri
Published: January 2018

Background

Use of small diameter stents in young children and jailing of side branches pose significant challenges to future re‐interventions. We sought to assess the capacity to induce longitudinal fractures in undersized stents to increase vessel diameter, and side cell fractures to enlarge stenotic jailed branches.

Methods

Retrospective review of patients who underwent attempted intentional stent fractures (ISF) from 01/06‐02/17.

Results

Twenty‐two patients, median age 4.4 (1.1–47.8) years, weighing 14.3 (6.9–102) kg underwent attempted ISF in 32 vessels. Initial stent implant occurred at a median age of 1.0 (0.1–34.1) years, at the following sites: pulmonary arteries (11), pulmonary veins (14), systemic veins (6), and aorta (1). Initial diameters of the stents were 3.5–12 mm. Thirteen vessels had overlapping stents. Using high‐pressure balloons, longitudinal ISF was achieved in 23 and side cell ISF in eight vessels. One longitudinal ISF attempt was unsuccessful. Three lesions were immediately re‐stented after longitudinal ISF, and three lesions treated with angioplasty (1) or stenting (2) after side cell ISF. Only one complication occurred (pseudoaneurysm in a pulmonary artery after longitudinal ISF requiring placement of a covered stent). At a median follow up of 2.0 years (2 days – 10.8 years), eight patients had 16 additional interventions for restenosis at site of ISF.

Conclusions

ISF can be induced safely in a variety of vascular beds using high‐pressure balloons both longitudinally or through side cells. Longitudinal ISF only rarely requires immediate placement of a new stent; however, late restenosis may occur, requiring re‐stenting.
Angiographic follow‐up of infants and children undergoing percutaneous carotid artery interventions
Authors: Ligon R. Allen , Kim Dennis W. , Vincent Robert N. , Bauser‐Heaton Holly D. , Ooi Yinn K. , Petit Christopher J.
Published: January 2018

Objective

The purpose of this study was to review the outcomes following the percutaneous carotid arterial (PCA) approach in infants and children with congenital heart disease.

Background

PCA access is becoming more commonly adopted following reports demonstrating it is a safe alternative to surgical carotid cutdown and even the femoral arterial route. However, follow‐up outcomes after PCA remain unreported.

Methods

We reviewed all cases with PCA access and follow‐up catheterizations which included carotid artery (CA) angiography between May 2012 until December 2016. We examined for evidence of CA stenosis at follow‐up angiography and assessed any other CA complications associated with vascular access.

Results

There were 61 PCA catheterizations performed in 55 unique patients. Follow‐up CA imaging with angiography was available in 43 patients (78%, 43/55). There was no vessel stenosis nor lumen irregularity in 28 (65%) patients. In 15 cases (35%), there was a mild degree of irregularity or narrowing by angiography (median 4.1%, range 2.3%–12.5%). Nine patients underwent repeat PCA catheterizations. Seven of these had no visible vascular stenosis on follow‐up angiographic imaging, including a patient who was accessed three separate times from the CA. No statistically significant risk factors for developing mild CA stenosis were identified.

Conclusions

PCA access for pediatric interventional catheterization appears to be safe with a very low rate of mild stenosis, and very few complications. Follow‐up outcomes in our series are excellent, with a CA patency rate of 100%, even after multiple procedures. Mild CA stenosis was not associated with patient size or sheath introducer caliber. While the acute results from percutaneous CA catheterization have proven safe in recent literature, longer‐term outcomes remain unreported. At our institution, the outcomes following percutaneous carotid access are associated with an excellent patency rate of 100%, even after multiple procedures on the same vessel. A low incidence of mild vessel stenosis can be appreciated on follow‐up angiography.
Three‐dimensional prototyping for procedural simulation of transcatheter mitral valve replacement in patients with mitral annular calcification
Authors: El Sabbagh Abdallah , Eleid Mackram F. , Matsumoto Jane M. , Anavekar Nandan S. , Al‐Hijji Mohammed A. , Said Sameh M. , Nkomo Vuyisile T. , Holmes David R. , Rihal Charanjit S. , Foley Thomas A.
Published: January 2018

Introduction

Three‐dimensional (3D) prototyping is a novel technology which can be used to plan and guide complex procedures such as transcatheter mitral valve replacement (TMVR).

Methods

Eight patients with severe mitral annular calcification (MAC) underwent TMVR. 3D digital models with digital balloon expandable valves were created from pre‐procedure CT scans using dedicated software. Five models were printed. These models were used to assess prosthesis sizing, anchoring, expansion, paravalvular gaps, left ventricular outflow tract (LVOT) obstruction, and other potential procedure pitfalls. Results of 3D prototyping were then compared to post procedural imaging to determine how closely the achieved procedural result mirrored the 3D modeled result.

Results

3D prototyping simulated LVOT obstruction in one patient who developed it and in another patient who underwent alcohol septal ablation prior to TMVR. Valve sizing correlated with actual placed valve size in six out of the eight patients and more than mild paravalvular leak (PVL) was simulated in two of the three patients who had it. Patients who had mismatch between their modeled valve size and post‐procedural imaging were the ones that had anterior leaflet resection which could have altered valve sizing and PVL simulation. 3D printed model of one of the latter patients allowed modification of anterior leaflet to simulate surgical resection and was able to estimate the size and location of the PVL after inserting a valve stent into the physical model.

Conclusion

3D prototyping in TMVR for severe MAC is feasible for simulating valve sizing, apposition, expansion, PVL, and LVOT obstruction.
Stenting for middle aortic syndrome caused by Takayasu arteritis‐immediate and long‐term outcomes
Authors: Che Wuqiang , Xiong Hongliang , Jiang Xiongjing , Dong Hui , Zou Yubao , Yang Yuejin , Gao Runlin
Published: January 2018

Objective

To evaluate immediate and long‐term clinical outcomes of stenting for middle aortic syndrome (MAS) caused by Takayasu arteritis (TA).

Background

Studies of endovascular stenting for the treatment of MAS caused by TA are scare.

Methods

Data from 48 consecutive TA patients (mean 33.3 ± 12.6 years) with MAS treated by stenting in our institution between January 2010 and July 2016 were collected and retrospectively analyzed. Thirty‐day and long‐term follow‐up clinical outcomes after aorta stenting were assessed.

Results

Stenting was successful in all patients. The mean stenosis and peak systolic pressure gradient of aorta lesions were reduced from 81.3 ± 8.0% and 70.7 ± 18.4 mm Hg to 14.7 ± 8.3% and 14.0 ± 5.8 mm Hg immediately after the 54 stents were implanted. One patient developed retroperitoneal hemorrhage and one developed flow‐limiting dissection that involved bilateral renal arteries perioperatively. Both patients recovered without sequela. Compared with baseline, the ankle brachial index (0.92 ± 0.19 vs. 0.75 ± 0.22), mean systolic blood pressure (149.5 ± 19.1 vs. 179.0 ± 28.4 mm Hg) and antihypertensive drugs (1.1 ± 0.7 vs. 3.1 ± 0.9) significantly improved after an average follow‐up of 3.1 years (all P < .001). A total of 5 (10.9%) patients developed in‐stent restenosis, which were resolved by reintervention (restenting in 3 patients and re‐angioplasty alone in 2 patients). No major adverse events occurred during follow up.

Conclusions

Percutaneous aortic stenting is highly efficacious and safe in treating patients with MAS caused by TA with good immediate and long‐term clinical outcomes.
Does spotty calcification attenuate the response of nonculprit plaque to statin therapy?: A serial optical coherence tomography study
Authors: Afolabi Abigail , Mustafina Irina , Zhao Linlin , Li Lulu , Sun Rong , Hu Sining , Zhang Shaosong , Jia Haibo , Guilio Guagliumi , Yu Bo
Published: January 2018

Objectives

The aim of this study was to determine if spotty calcification decreases the response of plaque progression to statin therapy.

Background

Previous studies showed that the presence of spotty calcification is a marker of vulnerable plaque. However, the relationship between spotty calcification and plaque progression is not clear.

Methods

Ninety‐six nonculprit lipid‐rich plaques in 69 patients who received serial optical coherence tomography (OCT) imaging were included. Plaques were divided into three groups: spotty calcification (n = 38), calcified (n = 12) and noncalcified (n = 46) plaques. Spotty calcification was identified by the presence of a lesion <4 mm in length with an arc of calcification <90°. Changes in plaque characteristics and fibrous cap thickness (FCT) at 6 and 12 months under statin therapy were analyzed by OCT.

Results

The increase of FCT was sustained from baseline to 6 and 12 months in three groups: spotty calcification (62.8 ± 20.9, 126.4 ± 84.9, and 169.2 ± 81.6 μm, respectively; P < .001), calcified (59.8 ± 17.0, 93.4 ± 51.4, and 155.2 ± 61.7 μm, respectively; P < .001) and noncalcified (60.0 ± 17.2, 125.5 ± 62.1, and 161.0 ± 80.5 μm, respectively; P < .001). Intensive statin induced a greater change in FCT at 12 months than moderate statin in the spotty calcification group (P = 0.034). The mean lipid arc decreased significantly at 12 months from baseline in the three groups (P = 0.004, P = 0.023, and P < .001, respectively).

Conclusions

Statin therapy was effective for plaque stabilization in plaques with and without spotty calcification. Patients with spotty calcification benefitted more from intensive statin than from moderate statin therapy.