bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Patients with Pediatric Obstructive Sleep Apnea Show Altered T‐Cell Populations with a Dominant TH17 Profile
Authors: Anderson Martin E. , Buchwald Zachary S. , Ko Je , Aurora Rajeev , Sanford Thomas
Published: February 2014

Objective

To characterize the immunologic changes of the tonsil as they correlate with increasing apnea‐hypopnea index (AHI) in children.

Study Design

Prospective immunologic analysis.

Setting

Tertiary care pediatric otolaryngology practice.

Subjects

Tonsils were collected from 24 children with obstructive sleep apnea, all of whom had undergone polysomnography at an accredited sleep center using scoring determined by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine 2007 scoring manual. Patients were excluded if they had been diagnosed with craniofacial abnormalities, neuromuscular disorders, or immunodeficiency.

Methods

Single‐cell suspensions were isolated from tonsils of 13 individuals and stained with fluor‐conjugated antibodies and analyzed using fluorescence‐activated cell sorting. Single‐cell suspensions from tonsils of 11 additional individuals were incubated 21 hours and subjected to multiplexed enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay cytokine analysis.

Results

In patients with an AHI >5 events/h, there was a statistically significant increase in the fraction of CD4+ CD45RO+ T cells (P <. 01), and the percentage of CD8+ FoxP3+ T cells (TcREG) showed a statistically significant decrease (P <. 005). Cytokine analysis revealed high levels of interleukin (IL)–17A, IL‐1b, IL‐10, and IL‐12p70 production. Cytokine profiles revealed a conspicuous absence of IL‐4 and IL‐2.

Conclusions

Our results indicate the tonsils of patients with obstructive sleep apnea have an ongoing inflammatory response characterized by increased effector CD4 T cells and decreased FoxP3 CD8 T cells. The TH17 skewing suggests that local immune activation may be either autoimmune or due to an extracellular pathogen.
Pneumonectomy for nonmalignant disease
Authors: Martin Jeremiah , Ferraris Victor A , Saha Sibu P
Published: February 2014

Background

Pneumonectomy for nonmalignant disease is unusual. We wondered about the incidence, predisposing risks, and outcomes of this entity.

Methods

We interrogated the Society of Thoracic Surgeons General Thoracic Surgery Database to compare patients undergoing pneumonectomy for benign or malignant indications between 2006 and 2010.

Results

309 of 3081 (10%) patients underwent pneumonectomy for nonmalignant conditions. The benign group were younger (56 vs. 62 years), more likely to be on steroid therapy (11.3% vs. 2.7%), and less likely to be current smokers (14.4% vs. 20.1%). Both groups had an equal incidence of comorbidities. Preoperative pulmonary function was decreased in the nonmalignant group: forced expiratory volume in 1 s 61% vs. 74% of predicted; carbon monoxide diffusion in the lung 61% vs. 71% of predicted. The most common nonmalignant etiologies requiring pneumonectomy were lung and pleural infections. The benign group had increased postoperative bleeding, infections, and lung-related complications.

Conclusions

Approximately 10% of patients undergoing pneumonectomy have nonmalignant disease. In these cases, careful patient selection with detailed preoperative preparation including improvement in nutrition and functional status are indicated. Technical aspects of pneumonectomy, which minimize perioperative bleeding and infectious complications, are particularly important when this surgery is performed for nonmalignant conditions.
A novel approach in managing right-sided haemothorax in neurofibromatosis type 1
Authors: Mydin Muhammad Izanee Mohamed , Sharma Amit , Zia Zergham , Hawari Mohammad , Jadoon Mehmood , Majewski Andrzej
Published: February 2014

Spontaneous haemothorax due to vasculopathy in patients with neurofibromatosis type 1 is rare but life-threatening. A 56-year-old lady with neurofibromatosis type 1 presented with right-sided chest pain, dyspnoea, and collapse. Computed tomography showed a right-sided hemothorax. Urgent angiography showed contrast leakage from a right subclavian artery pseudoaneurysm. A Gore Viabahn endovascular stent graft was deployed. Completion angiography revealed satisfactory haemostasis. She underwent video-assisted thoracoscopic evacuation of the hemothorax, with good results. This case highlights a novel approach to managing a rare emergency, using combined procedures.
Exploring advanced piano students’ approaches to sight-reading
Authors: Zhukov Katie
Published: February 2014

The ability to read music fluently is fundamental for undergraduate music study yet the training of sight-reading is often neglected. This study compares approaches to sight-reading and accompanying by students with extensive sight-reading experience to those with limited experience, and evaluates the importance of this skill to advanced pianists and the type of strategies they use when sight-reading. Analysis of 74 survey-interviews highlights the importance of sight-reading, and indicates underdeveloped sight-reading skills and a substantial lack of experience in sight-reading and accompanying in advanced pianists. Significant differences in accompanying practice emerged between the groups with no/little and extensive sight-reading experience. The analysis of a number and the type of strategies used during sight-reading suggests individual approaches and distinct paths in the development of the skill. The findings emphasise the need for a new approach in the development of sight-reading curricula for higher education.
Governance and policy challenges of implementing urban low-carbon transport initiatives
Authors: Tait Elizabeth , Laing Richard , Gray David
Published: February 2014

Emissions from transport represent a quarter of Scotland’s total. Action to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions from transport has been criticized for being limited, poorly integrated with other areas of policy and focused on narrow programmes. Several funding bodies at the European level provide funding for the development of pilot initiatives to reduce carbon and to promote knowledge exchange between partner cities. Cities where strategies have been successful consider transport as being a significant part of wider urban design and urban development, thus ensuring that the potential benefits are directly related to concerns of planning, housing and behavioural change. Through research into the experience of one local authority in a European project, this paper finds that governance, cultural, economic and policy barriers inhibit the successful implementation of low-carbon transport initiatives. This paper concludes that, despite these challenges, there is still value for local authorities to engage in projects that fund pilot carbon reduction initiatives and promote knowledge exchange.
Bond behavior of sand-coated deformed glass fiber reinforced polymer rebars
Authors: Xue Weichen , Zheng Qiaowen , Yang Yu , Fang Zhiqing
Published: February 2014

Bond behavior of sand-coated deformed glass fiber reinforced polymer rebars was experimentally investigated in this study. A total of 84 specimens, including 30 beam specimens, 48 Losberg pullout specimens, and six RILEM/CEB/FIP pullout specimens, were constructed and tested under monotonic loading. Two failure modes including pullout failure and splitting failure were observed. The pullout failure occurred when the embedment length of specimens was less than 5 times glass fiber reinforced polymer rebar diameter, while the splitting failure occurred when embedment length was more than 5 times rebar diameter. The specimens with the embedment length of 5 times bar diameter failed either by glass fiber reinforced polymer rebars pulling out or by concrete splitting. The results also showed that bond strength of sand-coated deformed glass fiber reinforced polymer rebars was, on average, 59–127% that of the deformed steel rebars. With higher concrete strength, higher bond strength of sand-coated deformed glass fiber reinforced polymer rebars was obtained. When rebar diameter or embedment length increased, bond strength of sand-coated deformed glass fiber reinforced polymer rebars decreased. Based on these results, formulas for the bond strength and the development length of glass fiber reinforced polymer rebars were proposed, considering the effects of concrete strength, bar diameter, embedment length, and rebar outer surface.
Bright to Dim Oscillatory Response of the Neurospora Circadian Oscillator
Authors: Gooch Van D. , Johnson Alicia E. , Larrondo Luis F. , Loros Jennifer J. , Dunlap Jay C.
Published: February 2014

The fungus Neurospora crassa constitutes an important model system extensively used in chronobiology. Several studies have addressed how environmental cues, such as light, can reset or synchronize a circadian system. By means of an optimized firefly luciferase reporter gene and a controllable lighting system, we show that Neurospora can display molecular circadian rhythms in dim light when cultures receive bright light prior to entering dim light conditions. We refer to this behavior as the “bright to dim oscillatory response” (BDOR). The bright light treatment can be applied up to 76 h prior to dim exposure, and it can be as short as 15 min in duration. We have characterized this response in respect to the duration of the light pulse, the time of the light pulse before dim, the intensity of dim light, and the oscillation dynamics in dim light. Although the molecular mechanism that drives the BDOR remains obscure, these findings suggest that a long-term memory of bright light exists as part of the circadian molecular components. It is important to consider the ecological significance of such dim light responses in respect to how organisms naturally maintain their timing mechanism in moonlight.
The “Post-Racial” Politics of Race
Authors: McDermott Kathryn A. , Frankenberg Erica , Diem Sarah
Published: February 2014

Many school districts have recently revised, or tried to revise, their policies for assigning students to schools, because the legal and political status of racial and other kinds of diversity is uncertain, and the districts are facing fiscal austerity. This article presents case studies of politics and student assignment policy in three large school districts: Boston, Massachusetts; Wake County (Raleigh), North Carolina; and Jefferson County (Louisville), Kentucky. In all three districts, there has been pressure to change student-assignment policies in ways that respond to the priorities of White and middle-class populations, with the potential to worsen the options available to students of color. Our case studies reinforce the criticisms of race-neutral politics and policy that have been made by Eduardo Bonilla-Silva and others. Race-neutral politics during fiscal retrenchment tends to reframe privilege as common sense and to obscure some students’ structural disadvantages.
Characteristics of Supplemental Educational Services Providers That Explain Heterogeneity of Effects on Achievement
Authors: Jones Curtis J.
Published: February 2014

This study used a mixed-methods approach to explore the heterogeneity of effectiveness between supplemental educational services (SES) providers in the Chicago Public Schools (CPS). Using surveys of schools and SES providers, and statistical modeling, providers using college graduates and teachers as tutors were found to be more effective than those using college students. Contrary to what research on tutoring suggested, group size was unrelated to student achievement. Furthermore, school ratings of providers were not related to provider effectiveness. The results suggest that part of improving the overall effectiveness of SES may involve increasing the qualifications of tutors. Furthermore, educators should consider the qualifications of tutors when choosing SES providers to work in their schools. Additional formative research on SES should be done to identify additional levers for increasing its impact.
Positive self-evaluation versus negative other-evaluation in the political genre of pre-election debates
Authors: Cabrejas-Peñuelas Ana B , Díez-Prados Mercedes
Published: February 2014

The present study explores the language of evaluation in a sub-genre of political discourse, pre-electoral debates, and its potential persuasive function for gaining voters via a contraposition of positive self-evaluation and negative evaluation of the other candidate. A further aim of this research is to check whether the candidate’s ideology has a bearing on the entities that get evaluated. After a brief examination of the characteristics of the sub-genre at hand, specifically in the Spanish context, we present the results of an evaluation analysis carried out in a corpus of 19,849 words, which is the extension of the most recent pre-electoral debate held in Spain between the candidates of the two main political parties. Taking into account Van Dijk’s critical discourse analysis (CDA) framework for parliamentary debates as global semantic strategies of positive self-presentation and negative other-presentation, Martin and White’s method was adopted as an analytical tool. The results showed that, although each candidate had different preferences in the choice of evaluative devices, they both used them as a strategy to win electoral votes while deprecating the opposing party and, therefore, minimizing their opponents’ chances of winning the elections. On the other hand, and despite their opposing ideology, they both seem to defend those policies that are more widely accepted in order not to risk losing voters: public services and egalitarian social policies.
Role of Language in Gender Identity Formation in Pakistani School Textbooks
Authors: Khan Qaisar , Sultana Nighat , Bughio Qasim , Naz Arab
Published: February 2014

Research in language and linguistics focuses on language as a reflection of gendered culture. This article argues that language reflects as well as preserves, propagates, reinforces and perpetuates this culture. The article explores the significance of the role of language, that is, words and labels, in the formation and construction of gender identity in the social and cultural set-up. The study is based on an analysis of 42 textbooks in English, Urdu and Pakhtu, used for teaching students from grades 1 to 10 in state-owned and privately run Pakistani schools. The article contends that language serves as a means to preserve age-old gender inequalities that in turn are manipulated and exploited to preserve social structures marked by gender bias, disparity and gender segregation. The research further indicates that the language of textbooks advocates masculinity and male domination in the decision-making process, division of labour, domestic and public spheres of activity resulting in the subjugation of women. The textbooks are markedly male-oriented as revealed with regard to creation, characterisation and modelling. Further, the community follows the Pakhtun code of honour, that is, Pakhtunwali, which is reinforced in the language of these texts.
Inaugurating a (Feminine) Public: Women’s Romances in Kannada, 1950s–1960s
Authors: P. Radhika
Published: February 2014

This article examines a set of Kannada romances written by women during the 1950s–1960s that became hugely popular during that time. It investigates the formation of subjectivity in these novels vis-à-vis subjectivity constituted in the state’s developmental-modern language soon after Indian independence. The state’s developmental-modern language encapsulates an understanding of the Indian state as an agent of modernisation because of its articulation of certain notions of progress and development, like ‘rights’ and ‘citizen’, that coincide with the values of the Enlightenment. I argue that on the one hand the novels align with the state in their articulation of ‘subjectivity’ in terms of ‘citizen’, ‘individual’ and ‘rights’. On the other hand, ‘subjectivity’ in terms of the ‘non-rational’ destabilises the former. The non-rational is revealed in a narrative technique that shows the women protagonists’ psychological conflicts as persistent, recurring and irresolvable, infusing the narrative with ‘hysterical excess’.
Nimble Fingers on Beedis: Problems of Girl Child Labour in Sambalpur and Jharsuguda
Authors: Mishra Dharmendra Kumar
Published: February 2014

There is a huge demand for beedis in the domestic market, but hardly any in the export market. The making of beedis is a labour-intensive job which draws growing numbers every day. Home-based workers, mostly girls and women, are the foundation on which this industry stands. Sambalpur and Jharsuguda are two districts where the concentration of beedi workers is greater than other districts of Odisha. Young girls, with their soft and nimble fingers make beedis faster than adults, for which parents entrust this dangerous job to them. This is the main reason why employment of girls in the beedi-making sector is increasing in an uncontrolled manner, at the cost of their schooling and health.
Strategies for Countering Somalian Piracy: Responding to the Evolving Threat
Authors: Ghosh Probal Kumar
Published: February 2014

Modern piracy has emerged as the bane of the contemporary seafarer. Having first made headlines in 2005, Somalian piracy has evolved considerably within a short period of time and has emerged as a major maritime threat with transnational characteristics in the Indian Ocean region. The Somalian piracy, which had extensive tribal linkages initially, has now developed extensive linkages with terrorist organisations and well-financed organised criminal gangs based inland and modifying its modalities of operation over time. Somalia, regarded as a failed state, has made progress in introducing a sense of democracy and stability by the election of a new President but the efficacy of basic democratic institutions is low and hence governance is still rudimentary. In such an atmosphere, the solution for eradicating piracy does not exclusively lie at sea as is often perceived by most governments. The innumerable warships in the region can at best suppress the number of incidents temporarily, as has been done currently. But complete eradication necessitates the espousal of multi-pronged proactive approaches that need to be collaborated by all the major stakeholders and the affected states—otherwise piracy will undoubtedly see a resurgence shattering the current sense of achievement.
India and Latin America: Looking Ahead
Authors: Bhojwani Deepak
Published: February 2014

India’s relations with Latin America and the Caribbean are more recent than with any other region of the world, for geographical and historic reasons. This piece seeks to trace the early associations, leading up to the consolidation of political and diplomatic relations in the twentieth century, and the more recent phenomenon of exponential increase in commercial and economic relations in this century. The Indian official establishment has recognised the potential that region holds for business and energy security, but also realises that the relationship carries no political baggage. Recent developments on the political and economic front augur well for a strong partnership. Latin America also recognises India as an important global power and a market for its resources, as well as a partner in several business ventures. This essay traces the diplomatic and political relationship, as well as the commercial links that have been established across the region. It examines and outlines the complementarity, given the extensive Latin American resource base, Indian technology, entrepreneurial initiatives, etc., to portray a vision of an even more dynamic future relationship. This will encompass and encourage cultural links with spinoffs in tourism, film production, etc. Eventually, the growing political and economic relationship will lead to establishment of greater physical connectivity, abolishing the myth of distance.
Book Review: India–Japan Relations in Emerging Asia
Authors: Panda Rajaram
Published: February 2014

Horimoto, Takenori and Lalima Varma (Eds), India–Japan Relations in Emerging Asia (New Delhi: Manohar, 2013). Pp. 299, Price ₹795. ISBN 978-93-5098-001-9.
Book Review: India’s Foreign Policy and Regional Multilateralism
Authors: Sultana Gulbin
Published: February 2014

Michael, Arndt, India’s Foreign Policy and Regional Multilateralism (Palgrave: Macmillan, 2013). Pp. 225. ISBN: 978-1-137-26311-7.
Book Review: The Great Convergence: Asia, the West and the Logic of One World
Authors: Chandra Vikash
Published: February 2014

Mahbubani, Kishore, The Great Convergence: Asia, the West and the Logic of One World (New York: Publish Affairs, 2013). Pp. 315. Price $26.99.
Courage
Authors: Amos Benjamin , Klimoski Richard J.
Published: February 2014

The move toward flatter and more flexible team situations has prompted the need for acts of leadership outside a formally designated role. In these situations, the choice of whether or not to act as a leader in the team is a discretionary choice and often involves risk. We consider the qualities of a team member that make up the propensity to act like a leader in situations of risk where the choice to act is most problematic. We propose that what we know about the virtue of “courage” lends valuable insights into this question and offer a framework of three qualities (character, confidence, and credibility) that serve as the foundation for the construct. Finally, we offer practical implications for the selection and retention related to the virtue of courage in team composition.
Engaging African American and Latino Adolescent Males Through School-Based Health Centers
Authors: Bains Ranbir Mangat , Franzen Carolyn W. , White-Frese’ Jesse
Published: February 2014

African American and Latino males are less likely to seek mental health services and obtain adequate care than their White counterparts. They are more likely to receive mental health services in school-based health centers (SBHCs) than in other community-based setting. The purpose of this article was to understand the issues and reasons these adolescents sought mental health services at SBHCs and what their perceptions of the services were. A content analysis of 22 individual interviews was conducted using Krippendorff’s method. Five themes emerged from the analysis of the data: the burdens and hurdles of my life, the door is always open, sanctuary within chaos, they get to us, and achieve my best potential. Each of the themes was explored in detail with rich quotations from the adolescents. The findings illuminated the daily struggles these adolescents faced and the impact mental health services in SBHCs had on their daily lives.
Depression Anxiety Stress Scales-21
Authors: Gomez Rapson , Summers Mathew , Summers Avril , Wolf Anna , Summers Jeff
Published: February 2014

The current study examined the measurement and structural invariance of the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales-21 (DASS-21) across ratings provided by men ( N = 227) and women ( N = 460). Multiple-group confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) supported full metric invariance and intercepts invariance for 20 of the 21 items. Invariance for all item intercepts was supported by multiple indicators multiple causes (MIMIC) procedure that controlled for the effects of age. Multiple-group CFA supported invariance for all factor variances and covariances. This procedure and the MIMIC analyses found equivalency for all latent mean scores. These findings indicate good support for measurement and structural invariance of the DASS-21 rating across men and women. The psychometric and practical implications of the findings are discussed.
A simplified vibration compensation through magnetostrictive actuators
Authors: Zucca Mauro , Raffa Francesco A , Fasana Alessandro , Colella Nicola
Published: February 2014

This paper addresses the vibration reduction of a simple structure, simulating a workpiece carrier plate, through a cancellation technique based on the use of smart compensation actuators. The proposed compensation strategy is implemented resorting to magnetostrictive actuators acting far from their resonant frequencies. Specifically, the procedure has been tested on two test rigs designed with particular reference to machine tools applications: they require the use of one and three magnetostrictive actuators for one-dimensional (1D) and three-dimensional (3D) vibrations compensation. The parameters of the compensation strategy are identified from the direct characterization of the actuators embedded in the structure. The resulting reduction of the lateral vibrations of 1D and 3D plates in the frequency range up to 400 Hz proves to be very satisfactory.
Core Values Are the Bedrock of a Culture of Compliance in Health Care Agencies
Authors: Rowe Rev. Jimmy , Cadzow Renee
Published: February 2014

Core values should be reexamined periodically in every health care agency to ensure that they are still the bedrock of its compliance culture. A health care agency culture is partially the outward demonstration of the core values underlying the ethical framework that dictates decision making. The question that must be asked is whether these existing core values are creating the culture of compliance that your agency desires. This article explores essential core values that are the bedrock of health care agencies and establishes the ingredients for developing a culture of compliance.
The potential role of epigenetic modifications in the heritability of multiple sclerosis
Authors: Zhou Yuan , Simpson Steve , Holloway Adele F , Charlesworth Jac , van der Mei Ingrid , Taylor Bruce V
Published: February 2014

It is now well established that both genetic and environmental factors contribute to and interact in the development of multiple sclerosis (MS). However, the currently described causal genetic variants do not explain the majority of the heritability of MS, resulting in ‘missing heritability’. Epigenetic mechanisms, which principally include DNA methylation, histone modifications and microRNA-mediated post-transcriptional gene silencing, may contribute a significant component of this missing heritability. As the development of MS is a dynamic process potentially starting with inflammation, then demyelination, remyelination and neurodegeneration, we have reviewed the dynamic epigenetic changes in these aspects of MS pathogenesis and describe how environmental risk factors may interact with epigenetic changes to manifest in disease.
Clinicians’, policy makers’ and patients’ views of pediatric cross-border care between Malta and the UK
Authors: Saliba Vanessa , Muscat Natasha Azzopardi , Vella Mairi , Montalto Simon Attard , Fenech Charlene , McKee Martin , Knai Cécile
Published: February 2014

Objective

The Malta–UK cross-border health care collaboration gives Maltese patients access to highly specialized care that is not available locally. Our aim was to identify the issues that arise in cross-border specialized care for rare childhood diseases.

Methods

We conducted 31 semi-structured face-to-face interviews with policy makers, consultant pediatricians from Mater Dei Hospital in Malta, the Royal Marsden Hospital and Great Ormond Street Hospital in England and the parents of a random sample of children referred for treatment abroad in 2011. We conducted qualitative thematic analysis of the data.

Results

Respondents viewed the collaboration as successful in providing timely access to high quality specialist care. Four factors facilitated implementation: long established personal relationships; communication and data sharing; shared care approach; and well established support systems. The key challenges are logistical, financial, communication and cultural and psychological.

Conclusion

Cross-border care pathways can successfully support access to high quality specialized care that is acceptable to health professionals and patients.
Tension haemopneumothorax as a complication of subclavian central venous access and pressure infusion
Authors: Sanders Guy J , Roy S , Graham RNJ
Published: February 2014

A haemodynamically unstable patient following a gunshot wound who required large gauge central venous access for resuscitation developed a tension haemopneumothorax as a complication of subclavian central venous catheter malplacement and pressure infusion of blood products. Placement of the line was not straightforward and clinical markers of misplacement, such as negative aspiration of blood on insertion or failure of drugs or fluids infused through the line, were not immediately recognized and these failures are discussed. If there is any clinical doubt about a central venous catheter placement, the line must not be used for pressure infusion as complications can arise that are more immediately life-threatening than the original injury. Large bore peripheral access should always be sought where clinically possible to allow ongoing volume resuscitation via this route during central line insertion, and if necessary afterwards until radiological confirmation is obtained.
An overdispersion model in meta-analysis
Authors: Kulinskaya Elena , Olkin Ingram
Published: February 2014

We propose a general approach based on the concept of overdispersion for specification of a random effects model (REM) in meta-analysis. This approach is similar to that used in generalized linear models, and includes the traditional REM as a particular case. A key feature of the model is the interpretation of the multiplicative factor as an intra-class correlation parameter. We provide several motivating examples, discuss statistical inference, and compare the new and standard methods on two examples of published meta-analyses. Estimation of the overdispersion parameter in the proposed model is compared in simulations to that of the traditional between-studies variance in the case of normal means. For small values of heterogeneity, the coverage of the confidence intervals for the overdispersion parameter is more stable.
Violence Against College Women
Authors: Rennison Callie Marie , Addington Lynn A.
Published: February 2014

Over the past 25 years, our understanding about violence against college women has greatly expanded, but it has been concentrated in particular areas. As a result, despite this increased attention, significant gaps in our knowledge still exist. One is a failure to take stock in how “violence” is defined and assess whether its current use adequately covers the variety of risks to which college women are exposed. We identify limitations in how the current literature operationalizes violence against college women and illustrate how addressing these limitations can inform and advance the field by identifying new patterns and correlates. We also propose a research agenda to explicitly examine the definition and scope of “violence” as considered in the study of college women.
Study on the relationships of mechanical performance with the short-range and long-range structure of 500–900℃ carbonized fiber
Authors: Lin Xue , Wang Chengguo , Yu Meijie , Lin Zhitao , Liu Yuzhen
Published: February 2014

The relationships of mechanical performance with the short-range and long-range structure of 500–900℃ carbonized fibers were studied by the combination of radial distribution function (RDF), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), etc. In the range of 500–900℃, there were different laws of change for tensile strength and elastic modulus during different temperature stages. The tensile strength was more nearly directly proportional to temperature, especially at higher than 600℃. The elastic modulus increased slowly from 500 to 700℃, and then elastic modulus increased rapidly after 700℃. The short-range structures had no effects on the mechanical performance. The uniform increasing rate of tensile strength was closely related to the crystallinity degree and crystal size. The outstanding increase of orientation degree was closely related to the change of elastic modulus.
The Impact of Certified Diabetes Educators on Diabetes Performance and Variation Among Primary Care Sites Within an Integrated Health System
Authors: Grigg James , Ning Yuming , Santana Calie
Published: February 2014

Objectives: Primary care networks within integrated health systems can experience significant variation in diabetes care. We studied an established, 20-site network to determine the impact of a quality improvement intervention to add certified diabetes educators (CDEs). We sought to measure whether sites with CDEs had higher quality and whether care improved over time more in sites with CDEs, beyond the existing differences among sites. Methods: Diabetes quality outcomes were (1) HbA1c ≤8%, (2) low-density lipoprotein (LDL) ≤100 mg/dL, (3) microalbumin checked, (4) blood pressure (BP) ≤130/80 mm Hg (tight control), and (5) BP ≤140/90 mm Hg (lenient control). Baseline differences brought us to divide sites into 3 site types by predominant payer and teaching status (commercial/nonteaching, mixed [mostly government-sponsored]/teaching and mixed/nonteaching). We measured the association between CDEs and each outcome using a 2-level mixed effects logistic regression with site type as a random effect. Results: Our analysis included 13 001 patients with visits and labs pre- and post-CDE implementation. Sites with CDEs improved significantly in 2 of 5 outcomes compared with sites without CDEs. Improvements occurred in microalbumin checks (odds ratio = 2.21, P < .001) and BP <140/90 mm Hg (odds ratio = 1.46, P = .03). There was no improvement in the other measures of diabetes quality. Of note, commercial/nonteaching and mixed/teaching sites also improved significantly in these 2 outcomes compared with mixed/nonteaching sites during that time period. Conclusions: We found that CDEs are associated with significant improvements in some diabetes outcomes. However, heterogeneity among primary care sites in an integrated network persists and all types of sites might not benefit equally from a quality improvement intervention like CDEs.
Do the Guidelines for Adolescent Preventive Services (GAPS) Facilitate Mental Health Diagnosis?
Authors: Gadomski Anne M. , Scribani Melissa B. , Krupa Nicole , Jenkins Paul L.
Published: February 2014

Objective: To determine if the Guidelines for Adolescent Preventive Services (GAPS) increases detection or shortens time to diagnosis of mental health (MH) disorders, particularly adolescent depression. Methods: Starting in May 1999, GAPS questionnaires were routinely administered at adolescent annual visits at 1 primary care clinic in a rural health network. Using an administrative database, we enumerated all MH diagnostic codes for outpatient visits of adolescents aged 13 to 15 years. Population based rates were derived using school enrollment data. Using time series, the rates of MH diagnoses were compared pre- and post-GAPS. Using survival analysis, the time to any MH diagnosis subsequent to index annual visits was also compared pre- and post-GAPS. Because the GAPS questionnaire includes questions for depressed mood, anhedonia, and suicidality, ICD-9-CM codes for depression and mood disorder were also analyzed separately. Results: Time series analysis included 8112 adolescents. The rate of MH diagnosis did not change pre- and post-GAPS ( P = .13). Time to any MH diagnosis was similar pre-GAPS (9.0 months) and post-GAPS (7.0 months, log rank P = .30). Time to any first diagnosis of depression or mood disorder was similar post-GAPS (12.2 months) versus pre-GAPS (11.0 months, log rank P = .34). Conclusions: Use of the GAPS was not associated with change in the rate of or time to MH diagnosis. Our results challenge the prevalent expectation that requiring mental health screening will reduce unmet need for MH treatment. Validated MH screening tools, primary care provider training, and access to MH services may also be needed but further study is required.
Anti-Social Networking
Authors: Allen Chris
Published: February 2014

With research highlighting the growing incidence of public opposition to the building of mosques and the innovative use of social networking, especially Facebook, to disseminate and garner support for such opposition, a pilot study sought to investigate this in relation to the proposed Dudley “super mosque.” Focusing on the Facebook group Stop Dudley Super Mosque and Islamic Village, members were engaged online to explore why they opposed the mosque. Some of the emergent themes included planning and location, inclusion and public investment as well as those relating to notions of identity, heritage, otherness, and Islamification. Overt racist and Islamophobic reasons were also identified. The sense of political disconnect of members is also considered. Concluding with a contextualization of the findings within the existing body of scholarly output, in particular the building of mosques and Islamophobia, having recognized how spaces such as Facebook have potential to function as sites for research and method also, an extended methodological consideration is also included.
Molecular phylogeny of Salmo of the western Balkans, based upon multiple nuclear loci
Authors: Pustovrh Gašper , Snoj Aleš , Bajec Simona Sušnik
Published: February 2014

Background

Classification of species within the genus Salmo is still a matter of discussion due to their high level of diversity and to the low power of resolution of mitochondrial (mt)DNA-based phylogeny analyses that have been traditionally used in evolutionary studies of the genus. We apply a new marker system based on nuclear (n)DNA loci to present a novel view of the phylogeny of Salmo representatives and we compare it with the mtDNA-based phylogeny.

Methods

Twenty-two nDNA loci were sequenced for 76 individuals of the brown trout complex: Salmo trutta (Danubian, Atlantic, Adriatic, Mediterranean and Duero mtDNA lineages), Salmo marmoratus (marble trout), Salmo obtusirostris (softmouth trout), and Salmo ohridanus (Ohrid belvica or belushka). Sequences were phylogenetically analyzed using maximum-likelihood and Bayesian Inference methods. The divergence time of the major clades was estimated using the program BEAST.

Results

The existence of five genetic units i.e. S. salar, S. ohridanus, S. obtusirostris, S. marmoratus and the S. trutta complex, including its major phylogenetic lineages was confirmed. Contrary to previous observations, S. obtusirostris was found to be sister to the S. trutta complex and the S. marmoratus clade rather than to the S. ohridanus clade. Reticulate evolution of S. obtusirostris was confirmed and a time for its pre-glacial origin suggested. S. marmoratus was found to be a separate species as S. trutta and S. obtusirostris. Relationships among lineages within the S. trutta complex were weakly supported and remain largely unresolved.

Conclusions

Nuclear DNA-based results showed a fairly good match with the phylogeny of Salmo inferred from mtDNA analyses. The comparison of nDNA and mtDNA data revealed at least four cases of mitochondrial–nuclear DNA discordance observed that were all confined to the Adriatic basin of the Western Balkans. Together with the well-known extensive morphological and genetic variability of Balkan trouts, this observation highlights an interesting and variegated evolutionary history of Salmo in this area.
Malondialdehyde mediates oxidized LDL-induced coronary toxicity through the Akt-FGF2 pathway via DNA methylation
Authors: Yang Tzu-Ching , Chen Yi-Jie , Chang Shwu-Fen , Chen Chu-Huang , Chang Po-Yuan , Lu Shao-Chun
Published: February 2014

Background

Oxidized LDL (oxLDL) is involved in the development of atherosclerotic heart disease through a mechanism that is not fully understood. In this study, we examined the role of malondialdehyde (MDA), an important oxidative stress epitope of oxLDL, in mediating coronary endothelial cytotoxicity.

Results

Human coronary artery endothelial cells (HCAECs) were treated with oxLDL in the presence or absence of antibody against MDA (anti-MDA) or apoB100 (anti-apoB100). In HCAECs treated with oxLDL (100 μg/ml) alone, DNA synthesis, cell viability, and expression of prosurvival fibroblast growth factor 2 (FGF2) were significantly reduced (P< 0.01 vs phosphate buffered saline–treated cells). These inhibitory effects of oxLDL were significantly attenuated in HCAECs cotreated with anti-MDA (0.15 μg/ml;P< 0.05 vs oxLDL-treated cells), but not in those cotreated with anti-apoB100. When we tested the effects of a panel of signal transduction modifiers on the signal transduction pathways of MDA in oxLDL-treated HCAECs, we found that MDA-induced cytotoxicity was mediated partly through the Akt pathway. Using a reporter gene assay, we identified an oxLDL-response element in theFGF2promoter that was responsible for the transcriptional repression ofFGF2by oxLDL. The results of bisulfite genomic DNA sequencing showed that in HCAECs treated with oxLDL, the GC-rich promoter ofFGF2was heavily methylated at cytosine residues, whereas cotreatment with anti-MDA markedly reduced oxLDL-inducedFGF2promoter methylation.

Conclusion

OxLDL disrupts the growth and survival of HCAECs through an MDA-dependent pathway involving methylation of theFGF2promoter and repression ofFGF2transcription. This novel epigenetic mechanism of oxLDL may underlie its atherogenicity in patients with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease.
NDM-1 Metallo-β-Lactamase and ArmA 16S rRNA methylase producing Providencia rettgeri clinical isolates in Nepal
Authors: Tada Tatsuya , Miyoshi-Akiyama Tohru , Dahal Rajan K , Sah Manoj K , Ohara Hiroshi , Shimada Kayo , Kirikae Teruo , Pokhrel Bharat M
Published: February 2014

Background

Drug-resistant Providencia rettgeri producing metallo-β-lactamase and 16S rRNA methylase has been reported in several countries. We analyzed P. rettgeri clinical isolates with resistance to carbapenems and aminoglycosides in a hospital in Nepal.

Methods

Five clinical isolates of multidrug-resistant P. rettgeri were obtained in a hospital in Nepal. Antimicrobial susceptibilities were determined using the microdilution method and entire genomes were sequenced to determine drug-resistant genes. Epidemiological analysis was performed by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis.

Results

Four of the 5 isolates were resistant to carbapenems (imipenem and meropenem), with MICs ≥16 mg/L, with the remaining isolate showing intermediate resistance to imipenem, with an MIC of 2 mg/L and susceptibility to meropenem with an MIC ≤1 mg/L. All 5 isolates had bla
VEB-1. Of the 4 carbapenem-resistant strains, 3 had bla
NDM-1 and 1 had bla
OXA-72. All isolates were highly resistant to aminoglycosides (MICs ≥1,024 mg/L) and harbored armA. As the result of pulsed-field gel electrophoresis pattern analysis in the 5 P. rettgeri isolates, 4 had identical PFGE patterns and the fifth showed 95.7% similarity.

Conclusions

This is the first report describing multidrug-resistant P. rettgeri strains harboring bla
NDM-1 or bla
OXA-72 and armA isolated from patients in Nepal.
Broadband antireflective silicon nanostructures produced by spin-coated Ag nanoparticles
Authors: Kim Joon Beom , Yeo Chan Il , Lee Yong Hwan , Ravindran Sooraj , Lee Yong Tak
Published: February 2014

We report the fabrication of broadband antireflective silicon (Si) nanostructures fabricated using spin-coated silver (Ag) nanoparticles as an etch mask followed by inductively coupled plasma (ICP) etching process. This fabrication technique is a simple, fast, cost-effective, and high-throughput method, making it highly suitable for mass production. Prior to the fabrication of Si nanostructures, theoretical investigations were carried out using a rigorous coupled-wave analysis method in order to determine the effects of variations in the geometrical features of Si nanostructures to obtain antireflection over a broad wavelength range. The Ag ink ratio and ICP etching conditions, which can affect the distribution, distance between the adjacent nanostructures, and height of the resulting Si nanostructures, were carefully adjusted to determine the optimal experimental conditions for obtaining desirable Si nanostructures for practical applications. The Si nanostructures fabricated using the optimal experimental conditions showed a very low average reflectance of 8.3%, which is much lower than that of bulk Si (36.8%), as well as a very low reflectance for a wide range of incident angles and different polarizations over a broad wavelength range of 300 to 1,100 nm. These results indicate that the fabrication technique is highly beneficial to produce antireflective structures for Si-based device applications requiring low light reflection.
Enhanced field electron emission properties of hierarchically structured MWCNT-based cold cathodes
Authors: Gautier Loïck-Alexandre , Le Borgne Vincent , Al Moussalami Samir , El Khakani My Ali
Published: February 2014

Hierarchically structured MWCNT (h-MWCNT)-based cold cathodes were successfully achieved by means of a relatively simple and highly effective approach consisting of the appropriate combination of KOH-based pyramidal texturing of Si (100) substrates and PECVD growth of vertically aligned MWCNTs. By controlling the aspect ratio (AR) of the Si pyramids, we were able to tune the field electron emission (FEE) properties of the h-MWCNT cathodes. Indeed, when the AR is increased from 0 (flat Si) to 0.6, not only the emitted current density was found to increase exponentially, but more importantly its associated threshold field (TF) was reduced from 3.52 V/μm to reach a value as low as 1.95 V/μm. The analysis of the J-E emission curves in the light of the conventional Fowler-Nordheim model revealed the existence of two distinct low-field (LF) and high-field (HF) FEE regimes. In both regimes, the hierarchical structuring was found to increase significantly the associated β
LF and β
HF field enhancement factors of the h-MWCNT cathodes (by a factor of 1.7 and 2.2, respectively). Pyramidal texturing of the cathodes is believed to favor vacuum space charge effects, which could be invoked to account for the significant enhancement of the FEE, particularly in the HF regime where a β
HF as high as 6,980 was obtained for the highest AR value of 0.6.
Vertical nanowire probes for intracellular signaling of living cells
Authors: Lee Ki-Young , Kim Ilsoo , Kim So-Eun , Jeong Du-Won , Kim Ju-Jin , Rhim Hyewhon , Ahn Jae-Pyeong , Park Seung-Han , Choi Heon-Jin
Published: February 2014

The single living cell action potential was measured in an intracellular mode by using a vertical nanoelectrode. For intracellular interfacing, Si nanowires were vertically grown in a controlled manner, and optimum conditions, such as diameter, length, and nanowire density, were determined by culturing cells on the nanowires. Vertical nanowire probes were then fabricated with a complimentary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) process including sequential deposition of the passivation and electrode layers on the nanowires, and a subsequent partial etching process. The fabricated nanowire probes had an approximately 60-nm diameter and were intracellular. These probes interfaced with a GH3 cell and measured the spontaneous action potential. It successfully measured the action potential, which rapidly reached a steady state with average peak amplitude of approximately 10 mV, duration of approximately 140 ms, and period of 0.9 Hz.