bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Comparison Of Early-Stage High-Grade Serous Primary Fallopian Tube Cancers and Epithelial Ovarian Cancers: A Multicenter Study
Authors: Gungorduk Kemal , Ozdemir Aykut , Selcuk Ilker , Telli Elcin , Şahin Öztürk , Toptaş Tayfun , Akman Levent , Güzel Ahmet B. , Taşkın Salih , Öge Tufan , Güngördük Özgü , Gokçü Mehmet , Gungor Tayfun , Yaşar Levent , Terek Mustafa C. , Ozan Hakan , Ozsaran Aydın , Sancı Muzaffer , Vardar Mehmet A. , Meydanlı Mehmet M. , Yalçın Ömer T. , Ortac Fırat , Özalp Sinan
Published: March 2017

Introduction: We compared the disease free-survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) rates of patients with high-grade serous primary fallopian tube cancer (HG-sPFTC) and high-grade serous epithelial ovarian cancer (HG-sEOC). Methods: 22 early-stage cancer patients (International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) stages I-II) with HG-sPFTC were retrospectively evaluated. In addition, 44 control patients diagnosed with HG-sEOC were matched to these patients with respect to tumor stage at diagnosis. All patients underwent complete surgical staging, followed by adjuvant chemotherapy. Kaplan-Meier curves were used to generate survival data. Results: The mean age of HG-sPFTC patients was 59.4 ± 6.2 years, and that of HG-sEOC patients 55.2 ± 11.0 years (p = 0.002). All patients underwent 6 cycles of platinum-based adjuvant chemotherapy. All operations were optimal. The 5-year DFSs were 77.3% for HG-sPFTC patients and 75% for HG-sEOC patients (p = 1.00).The 5-year OS rates were 81.8% in women with HG-sPFTC and 77.3% in those with HG-sEOC (p = 0.75). Conclusion: The DFS and OS rates of patients with early-stage (FIGO stages I and II) HG-sPFTC and HG-sEOC were similar. The surgical and adjuvant therapy management of these malignancies should be similar.
Terrestriality of Wild Sapajus cay (Illiger, 1815) as Revealed by Camera Traps
Authors: Porfirio Grasiela , Santos Filipe Martins , Foster Vania , Nascimento Leonardo França , Macedo Gabriel Carvalho , Barreto Wanessa Teixeira Gomes , Fonseca Carlos , Herrera Heitor Miraglia
Published: March 2017

Although primarily arboreal, the capuchin monkey (Sapajus cay) descends to the ground for several reasons. We used terrestrial records obtained by camera-trapping surveys to investigate seasonality in the terrestriality of capuchin monkeys, reasons to descend to the ground, and periods of the day when terrestriality was more pronounced. We carried out the study in the Urucum Massif, Brazilian Pantanal. We obtained data from 2 camera-trapping surveys carried out in the dry and rainy seasons. Terrestrial behaviours were categorized, and terrestrial activity patterns were described using a kernel density approach. We observed a seasonal effect on the frequency of terrestrial behaviours of capuchin monkeys, who used the ground more during the dry season. We identified 6 different types of terrestrial behaviour, but travelling (33.3%), foraging (23.3%), and drinking water (23.3%) were the most frequently observed. All records occurred during the day, with 2 peaks in terrestrial activity. Seasonal terrestriality was mainly linked to ecological needs during periods of scarce food and water.
(-)-Epigallocatechin-3-Gallate Inhibits Arsenic-Induced Inflammation and Apoptosis through Suppression of Oxidative Stress in Mice
Authors: Yu Nan-Hui , Pei Haiping , Huang Yong-Pan , Li Yu-Fei
Published: March 2017

Background/Aims: Exposure to arsenic in individuals has been found to be associated with various health-related problems including skin lesions, cancer, and cardiovascular and immunological disorders. (-)-Epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), the main and active polyphenolic catechin present in green tea, has shown potent antioxidant, anti-apoptotic and anti-inflammatory activity in vivo and in vitro. Thus, the present study was conducted to investigate the protective effects of EGCG against arsenic-induced inflammation and immunotoxicity in mice. Methods: Serum IL-1β, IL-6 and TNF-α were determined by ELISA, tissue catalase (CAT), malonyldialdehyde (MDA), superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione (GSH), nitric oxide and caspase 3 by commercial kits, mitochondrial membrane potential with Rh 123, mitochondrial ROS with 2’,7’-dichlorofluorescin diacetate (DCFH-DA), apoptotic and necrotic cells and T-cell phenotyping with Flow cytometry analysis. Results: The results showed that arsenic treatment significantly increased oxidative stress levels (as indicated by catalase, malonyldialdehyde, superoxide dismutase, glutathione and reactive oxygen species), increased levels of inflammatory cytokines and promoted apoptosis. Arsenic exposure increased the relative frequency of the CD8+(Tc) cell subpopulation (from 2.8 to 18.9%) and decreased the frequency of CD4+(Th) cells (from 5.2 to 2.7%). Arsenic exposure also significantly decreased the frequency of T(CD3) (from 32.5% to 19.2%) and B(CD19) cells (from 55.1 to 32.5%). All of these effects induced by NaAsO2 were attenuated by EGCG. Conclusions: The present in vitro findings indicate that EGCG attenuates not only NaAsO2-induced immunosuppression but also inflammation and apoptosis.
Impairment of the Ability of HDL From Patients With Metabolic Syndrome but Without Diabetes Mellitus to Activate eNOS
Authors: Denimal Damien , Monier Serge , Brindisi Marie-Claude , Petit Jean-Michel , Bouillet Benjamin , Nguyen Amandine , Demizieux Laurent , Simoneau Isabelle , Pais de Barros Jean-Paul , Vergès Bruno , Duvillard Laurence
Published: March 2017

Objective—

High-density lipoprotein (HDL) from nondiabetic patients with metabolic syndrome (MetS) displays abnormalities in their lipidome, such as triglyceride enrichment and sphingosine-1-phosphate depletion. We hypothesized that these abnormalities could impair the ability of HDL to stimulate endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS).

Approach and Results—

Compared with HDL from control subjects, HDL from normoglycemic patients with MetS was 39% richer in triglycerides (
P
<0.01) and 15% poorer in sphingosine-1-phosphate (
P
<0.05; n=23 in each group). eNOS activity, assessed by the conversion of L-[
3
H]arginine to L-[
3
H]citrulline, was 69% lower in human umbilical vein endothelial cells incubated with HDL from MetS patients than in cells incubated with HDL from controls (
P
<0.0001). In addition, the activating phosphorylation of eNOS at serine (Ser) 1177 and of Akt (protein kinase B) at Ser473 was 37% (
P
<0.001) and 39% (
P
<0.05) lower, respectively, with HDL from MetS patients. Sphingosine-1-phosphate enrichment of HDL from MetS patients restored their ability to stimulate eNOS activity (
P
<0.05), in relation with a significant increase in eNOS phosphorylation at Ser1177 (
P
<0.05) and in Akt phosphorylation at Ser473 (
P
=0.05). By contrast, triglyceride enrichment of HDL from control subjects did not modify eNOS activity (
P
=0.90) and phosphorylation at Ser1177 (
P
=0.87).

Conclusions—

We provide evidence that the activation of eNOS by HDL is decreased in MetS patients before the appearance of diabetes mellitus and that sphingosine-1-phosphate depletion of HDL is the main factor responsible for this defect. This has important consequences on the impairment of HDL functionality and antiatherogenic properties in these patients.
Computed Tomography Imaging Features in Acute Uncomplicated Stanford Type-B Aortic Dissection Predict Late Adverse Events
Authors: Sailer Anna M. , van Kuijk Sander M.J. , Nelemans Patricia J. , Chin Anne S. , Kino Aya , Huininga Mark , Schmidt Johanna , Mistelbauer Gabriel , Bäumler Kathrin , Chiu Peter , Fischbein Michael P. , Dake Michael D. , Miller D. Craig , Schurink Geert Willem H. , Fleischmann Dominik
Published: March 2017

Background—

Medical treatment of initially uncomplicated acute Stanford type-B aortic dissection is associated with a high rate of late adverse events. Identification of individuals who potentially benefit from preventive endografting is highly desirable.

Methods and Results—

The association of computed tomography imaging features with late adverse events was retrospectively assessed in 83 patients with acute uncomplicated Stanford type-B aortic dissection, followed over a median of 850 (interquartile range 247–1824) days. Adverse events were defined as fatal or nonfatal aortic rupture, rapid aortic growth (>10 mm/y), aneurysm formation (≥6 cm), organ or limb ischemia, or new uncontrollable hypertension or pain. Five significant predictors were identified using multivariable Cox regression analysis: connective tissue disease (hazard ratio [HR] 2.94, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.29–6.72;
P
=0.01), circumferential extent of false lumen in angular degrees (HR 1.03 per degree, 95% CI: 1.01–1.04,
P
=0.003), maximum aortic diameter (HR 1.10 per mm, 95% CI: 1.02–1.18,
P
=0.015), false lumen outflow (HR 0.999 per mL/min, 95% CI: 0.998–1.000;
P
=0.055), and number of intercostal arteries (HR 0.89 per n, 95% CI: 0.80–0.98;
P
=0.024). A prediction model was constructed to calculate patient specific risk at 1, 2, and 5 years and to stratify patients into high-, intermediate-, and low-risk groups. The model was internally validated by bootstrapping and showed good discriminatory ability with an optimism-corrected C statistic of 70.1%.

Conclusions—

Computed tomography imaging-based morphological features combined into a prediction model may be able to identify patients at high risk for late adverse events after an initially uncomplicated type-B aortic dissection.
Dual Function for Mature Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells During Arteriovenous Fistula Remodeling
Authors: Zhao Jinjing , Jourd'heuil Frances L. , Xue Min , Conti David , Lopez‐Soler Reynold I. , Ginnan Roman , Asif Arif , Singer Harold A. , Jourd'heuil David , Long Xiaochun
Published: March 2017

Background

The arteriovenous fistula (
AVF
) is the preferred form of hemodialysis access for patients with chronic kidney disease. However,
AVF
s are associated with significant problems including high incidence of both early and late failures, usually attributed to inadequate venous arterialization and neointimal hyperplasia, respectively. Understanding the cellular basis of venous remodeling in the setting of
AVF
could provide targets for improving
AVF
patency rates.

Methods and Results

A novel vascular smooth muscle cell (
VSMC
) lineage tracing reporter mouse, Myh11‐Cre/
ERT
2‐
mTmG
, was used to track mature
VSMC
s in a clinically relevant
AVF
mouse model created by a jugular vein branch end to carotid artery side anastomosis. Prior to
AVF
surgery, differentiated medial layer
VSMC
s were labeled with membrane green fluorescent protein (GFP) following tamoxifen induction. Four weeks after
AVF
surgery, we observed medial
VSMC
layer thickening in the middle region of the arterialized vein branch. This thickened medial
VSMC
layer was solely composed of differentiated
VSMC
s that were
GFP
+/
MYH
11+/Ki67−. Extensive neointimal hyperplasia occurred in the
AVF
region proximal to the anastomosis site. Dedifferentiated
VSMC
s (
GFP
+/
MYH
11−) were a major cellular component of the neointima. Examination of failed human
AVF
samples revealed that the processes of
VSMC
phenotypic modulation and intimal hyperplasia, as well as medial
VSMC
layer thickening, also occurred in human AVFs.

Conclusions

We demonstrated a dual function for mature
VSMC
s in
AVF
remodeling, with differentiated
VSMC
s contributing to medial wall thickening towards venous maturation and dedifferentiated
VSMC
s contributing to neointimal hyperplasia. These results provide valuable insights into the mechanisms underlying venous adaptations during
AVF
remodeling.
Increased Arterial Stiffness is an Independent Predictor of Renal Function Decline in Patients With Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Younger Than 60 Years
Authors: Fountoulakis Nikolaos , Thakrar Chiraag , Patel Kishan , Viberti Giancarlo , Gnudi Luigi , Karalliedde Janaka
Published: March 2017

Background

The objective of this study was to evaluate whether aortic pulse wave velocity (Ao‐
PWV
) predicts estimated glomerular filtration rate (
eGFR
) decline in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Methods and Results

This prospective single‐center cohort study investigated 211 type 2 diabetes mellitus patients with
eGFR
≥45 mL/min with a baseline mean age of 60.1 years (range, 30–82 years). The mean±
SD
baseline
eGFR
was 85±26.1 mL/min. We divided the cohort into 2 groups above (n=117, “older”) and below (n=94, “younger”) the mean age to evaluate whether Ao‐
PWV
predicted progression of kidney disease differentially in older and younger patients. The primary end point was reaching a final
eGFR
below the median for the age group and an
eGFR
fall ≥1 mL/min per year. Median follow‐up was 9 years (range, 3–11 years) and ≈50% of patients in both groups reached the primary end point. In older patients, Ao‐
PWV
was similar in those who did and did not reach the primary end point. By contrast, younger patients who reached the primary end point had a higher Ao‐
PWV
at baseline compared with those who did not (10.8 m/s versus 9.5 m/s, respectively; mean difference of 1.36 m/s [95%
CI,
0.38–2.33],
P
=0.007). Ao‐
PWV
was an independent predictor of the primary end point (incident risk ratio, 1.09; 95%
CI,
1.02–1.18) after adjustment for traditional risk factors only in younger patients (
P
=0.02). A 1m/s increase in Ao‐
PWV
was associated with a mean fall in
eGFR
of 2.1 mL/min per year (95%
CI,
0.09–4.1) independent of other risk factors in younger patients (
P
=0.04).

Conclusions

Ao‐
PWV
predicts
eGFR
decline, before the onset of advanced renal dysfunction, and is a potential target for renoprotection in younger patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.
Aortic Calcification Onset and Progression: Association With the Development of Coronary Atherosclerosis
Authors: Kälsch Hagen , Lehmann Nils , Moebus Susanne , Hoffmann Barbara , Stang Andreas , Jöckel Karl‐Heinz , Erbel Raimund , Mahabadi Amir A.
Published: March 2017

Background

Thoracic aortic calcification (
TAC
) and coronary artery calcification (
CAC
) are markers of subclinical atherosclerosis and are associated with incident major cardiovascular events. We investigated major determinants for incidence and progression of
TAC
and the association between
TAC
and
CAC
incidence and progression.

Methods and Results

In a population‐based cohort study, 3270 participants (aged 45–74 years, 53.1% women) received cardiac computed tomography at baseline and after a mean follow‐up of 5.1±0.3 years for quantification of calcification of the ascending (ATAC) and descending thoracic aorta (DTAC) and CAC. Multivariable relative risk regression analysis was used to investigate associations of cardiovascular risk factors with incident
TAC
, of baseline
TAC
with incident
CAC,
and of baseline
CAC
with incident
TAC
. Of 1243 participants with baseline
TAC
of 0, 517 (41.6%) revealed incident TAC after 5 years. Incidence of descending
TAC
was higher (34.5%) than ascending
TAC
(23.3%). Incident
TAC
after 5 years was associated with age (relative risk 1.26 [95% CI 1.21–1.33], per 5 years), blood pressure (relative risk 1.06 [95% CI 1.03–1.10], per 10 mm Hg), low‐density lipoprotein cholesterol (relative risk 1.08 [95% CI 1.04–1.12], per 20 mg/dL), and smoking (relative risk 1.28 [95% CI 1.07–1.53]). Among the 1185 participants without
CAC
at baseline, the risk of developing
CAC
was 28.3% when baseline
TAC
was present compared with 22.2% among those without baseline
TAC
(excess risk 6.1% [95% CI 1.2–11.0%]). The point estimate of excess risk for incident
CAC
was higher for ascending
TAC
(10.8% [95% CI 4.8–16.7%]) and low for descending
TAC
(1.8% [95% CI −3.2% to 6.7%]). Excess risk for developing ascending and descending TAC with present baseline
CAC
was 16.4% (95% CI 12.7–20.0%) and 15.6% (95% CI 10.8–20.4%), respectively.

Conclusion

TAC and CAC share similar major determinants for incident calcification. Participants with
TAC
, especially ascending
TAC
, are at elevated risk for development of
CAC
.
Formulating the Design Scope for the Base of the (Economic) Pyramid
Authors: Khadilkar Pramod
Published: March 2017

Base of the (economic) Pyramid (BoP) represents a population living under severe resource constraint s. Design for BoP has crucial responsibility of achieving the well-being through fulfillment of specific needs. At BoP, design has to shoulder this additional responsibility due to absent or severely constrained mechanisms to translate the functional product into well-being. This paper proposes a design scope for the BoP using normative approach from developmental economics, and then compares it with the pervasive product centric scope. Author defines product centricity as a design scope that considers resultant product as sufficient outcome of design and evaluates the extent of product centricity in prevalent design approaches.
The Scope of Design Knowledge: Integrating the Technically Rational and Human-Centered Dimensions
Authors: Åman Per , Andersson Hans , Hobday Mike
Published: March 2017

This paper examines design from a ‘knowledge integration’ research perspective, a field which enables us to explore the nature and scope of the knowledge involved in design. The integration of technically rational and human-centered knowledge is central to design (‘integration of design’). However, design is also a core knowledge generating process (‘integration by design’) which, although sometimes overlooked, elevates design from a functional task to a strategic activity of the firm. The paper explores the meaning and implications of the scope of design knowledge, highlighting the interplay between technically rational and human-centered aspects, including symbolism, meaning and aesthetics. By examining how the nature and scope of the design knowledge being integrated influences the design process we deepen our understanding of the complexities of design and design practice.
Change, Agency and the Incomplete in Aristotle
Authors: Anagnostopoulos Andreas
Published: March 2017

Aristotle’s most fundamental distinction between changes and other activities is not that ofMetaphysicsΘ.6, between end-exclusive and end-inclusive activities, but one implicit inPhysics3.1’s definition of change, between the activity of something incomplete and the activity of something complete. Notably, only the latter distinction can account for Aristotle’s view, inPhysics3.3, that ‘agency’—effecting change in something, e.g. teaching—does not qualify strictly as a change. This distinction informsDe Anima2.5 and imparts unity to Aristotle’s extended treatment of change inPhysics3.1-3.
A Perverted Balance: Modern Salafism between Reform and Jihād*
Authors: Weismann Itzchak
Published: March 2017

This article argues that there are structural affinities and continuities between the late nineteenth-century modernist reformers and today’s quietist, political, and jihādī Salafī factions. Salafism refers to the basic theological-ideological formation that postulates a return to pristine Islam to overcome tradition and bring regeneration. The Salafī balance between authenticity and modernization promoted by enlightened religious intellectuals in the late Ottoman period was shattered by the events of World War I and its aftermath. This resulted in its bifurcation between conservatives, who adopted literalist and xenophobic Wahhābī positions, and modernists, primarily the Muslim Brothers, who employed innovative means in their religio-political struggle to re-Islamize society and oust colonialism. The Salafī balance was reconstructed after independence on new, unenlightened lines in the Saudi Islamic Awakening (al-Ṣaḥwa al-Islāmiyya), which combined the erstwhile rigorous Wahhābī teachings with radicalized Islamism. Global jihādī-Salafism completed the perversion of the modernist Salafī balance by reducing the authentic way of the salaf to excommunication and violence and by using the most modern means in its war against both Westerners and indigenous Muslim governments.
Checklist of Cerambycidae, Disteniidae and Vesperidae (Coleoptera) primary types of the Museu de Zoologia, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
Authors: MONNÉ MIGUEL A. , SANTOS-SILVA ANTONIO , CASARI SÔNIA A. , MONNÉ MARCELA L.
Published: March 2017

A checklist of the 1164 primary types of Cerambycidae, Disteniidae and Vesperidae (Coleoptera) deposited in the Museu de Zoologia, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil is provided. Lectotype designations for 97 species are proposed.
Interactions and Interests: Collaboration Outcomes, Competitive Concerns, and the Limits to Triadic Closure
Authors: Zhelyazkov Pavel I.
Published: March 2017

Organizational theorists have extensively documented the increased likelihood that two organizations will form a relationship if they have preexisting relationships with the same third party, a phenomenon known as triadic closure. They have neglected, however, the importance of the shared third party in facilitating or reversing this process. I theorize that the collaboration outcomes and competitive concerns of the intermediary spanning an open triad play a crucial role in whether that triad closes. Using a longitudinal dataset of the investment decisions of limited partners investing in U.S. venture capital firms in the period 1997–2007, I find that an intermediary is less likely to facilitate a direct connection under two conditions: (1) the intermediary has experienced failed collaborations with one of the indirectly connected parties or (2) the intermediary has competitive concerns—driven by its replaceability and relative attractiveness—that it may lose future business to one of the indirectly connected parties. The paper goes beyond the conceptualization of indirect ties as passive scaffolding that supports creating direct ties and instills a greater appreciation for the role of the intermediary that sits across them.
Decomposition Analysis of Segregation
Authors: Yamaguchi Kazuo
Published: March 2017

Although substantive studies on segregation, such as residential or school segregation by race and occupational segregation by gender, are many in sociology, the analytical methodology is almost exclusively focused on measurement issues. The author introduces a set of two statistical models for the decomposition analysis of segregation. These models can be regarded as a tool to analyze whether one dimension of racial or gender inequality is related to another dimension of inequality, because they can assess, for example, the extent to which gender differences in human capital are related to gender segregation in occupation. One of the new models is a simple extension of the DiNardo-Fortin-Lemieux decomposition method of inequality, which implicitly assumes a supply-driven determination of positional status attainment, and another model modifies it to incorporate demand-based macrosocial size constraints on positional status attainment, but both models rely on Rubin’s conception of modeling counterfactual outcomes and inverse-probability-of-treatment weighting on the basis of propensity score. An application focuses on gender segregation in occupation in Japan and leads to a paradoxical result: equalizing human capital and labor supply characteristics between men and women increases, rather than decreases, gender segregation in occupation. Although the underlying behavioral mechanism for gender differences in occupational choice remains to be investigated, the analysis clarifies at least demographically why segregation increases under the counterfactual situation.
Helping Thy Neighbor? Prosocial Reactions to Observed Abusive Supervision in the Workplace
Authors: Priesemuth Manuela , Schminke Marshall
Published: March 2017

This article examines employee reactions to observing abusive supervision at work. Specifically, we integrate deonance theory with fairness theory and social cognitive theory to explore when and why employees who witness abuse toward a coworker engage in prosocial behavior intended to protect the victim. We first develop a moderated mediation model of prosocial responses to abuse, which identifies overall fairness as a first- and second-stage moderator, influencing the relationships between observed abusive supervision and observer deontic reactions and between deontic reactions and coworker protective behavior. Results from Study 1 support a model in which overall justice moderates the second link, indicating that fair norms and principles might prompt observers of abuse to direct their deontic anger toward coworker protective responses. Study 2 extends this work by further exploring the mediating mechanism by which overall fairness moderates the relationship between deontic anger and prosocial behavior for the coworker. Utilizing a critical incident technique, Study 2 reveals support for a mediated moderation model, indicating that the moderating effect of overall fairness occurs through its impact on ethical efficacy. These findings contribute to work on abusive supervision, third-party responses to injustice, and overall fairness by helping to better understand observer prosocial reactions to abusive supervision.
Using an Internet-Based Breast Cancer Risk Assessment Tool to Improve Social-Cognitive Precursors of Physical Activity
Authors: Fowler Stephanie L. , Klein William M. P. , Ball Linda , McGuire Jaclyn , Colditz Graham A. , Waters Erika A.
Published: March 2017

Background. Internet-based cancer risk assessment tools might serve as a strategy for translating epidemiological risk prediction research into public health practice. Understanding how such tools affect key social-cognitive precursors of behavior change is crucial for leveraging their potential into effective interventions. Purpose. To test the effects of a publicly available, Internet-based, breast cancer risk assessment tool on social-cognitive precursors of physical activity. Methods. Women (N = 132) aged 40–78 with no personal cancer history indicated their perceived risk of breast cancer and were randomly assigned to receive personalized ( www.yourdiseaserisk.wustl.edu ) or nonpersonalized breast cancer risk information. Immediately thereafter, breast cancer risk perceptions and physical activity-related behavioral intentions, self-efficacy, and response efficacy were assessed. Results. Personalized information elicited higher intentions, self-efficacy, and response efficacy than nonpersonalized information, P values < 0.05. Self-efficacy and response efficacy mediated the effect of personalizing information on intentions. Women who received personalized information corrected their inaccurate risk perceptions to some extent, P values < 0.05, but few fully accepted the information. Conclusion. Internet-based risk assessment tools can produce beneficial effects on important social-cognitive precursors of behavior change, but lingering skepticism, possibly due to defensive processing, needs to be addressed before the effects can be maximized.
Infrastructuring the social: Local community work, urban policy and marginalized residential areas in Denmark
Authors: Birk Rasmus H
Published: March 2017

This article develops the concept of infrastructuring the social by analyzing the uses of local community work in Danish marginalized residential areas. Infrastructuring the social is a concept to describe how spaces are designated as problematic and marginalized and then remade through the creation and materialization of normative and instrumental relations. The article empirically demonstrates how infrastructuring the social works through enacting relations between residents, local community workers and professionals from municipalities, relations which are used to move people along normative trajectories. These trajectories are meant to transport people out of problematic areas, and into closer contact with “regular society,” such as Danish institutions, education, and the labor market. Infrastructuring the social is thus enacted from the outside in, imbued with the normative imperatives of the welfare state, seeking to rework the agency of residents and improve the marginalized residential area. The concept of infrastructuring the social nuances the trope of the “network” by highlighting the normative imperatives embedded in making relations, and goes beyond frameworks of governmentality by highlighting the practical messiness and on-going work of everyday governance.
Financialization and the third sector: Innovation in social housing bond markets
Authors: Wainwright Thomas , Manville Graham
Published: March 2017

The recent global financial crisis has seen investors turn away from real-estate bonds, given their role in distributing risk during the crisis. However, since 2009, a new type of real-estate bond market has grown in London, enabling social housing groups to issue bonds. This could be viewed as further evidence of the extension of financialization practices into new spaces, beyond those of traditional capital markets and associated intermediaries. In this paper, we examine how financialization has begun to permeate the third sector, reordering the priority of housing associations' values, displacing social value creation with the economic. We highlight how reduced state funding has led social housing providers to become more reliant on capital market intermediaries, and explore how locally orientated social housing associations have become embedded within wider financial networks. While policy makers have viewed financial markets as a panacea to fund social housing developments in an age of austerity, tensions have emerged, requiring localized social housing organizations to become more commercial in their activities, jeopardizing their ability to protect vulnerable communities through social value creation.
Ultrasound‐Assessed Gastric Antral Area Correlates With Aspirated Tube Feed Volume in Enterally Fed Critically Ill Patients
Authors: Sharma Vibhu , Gudivada Deepthi , Gueret Renaud , Bailitz John
Published: March 2017

Background: Enteral tube feed (ETF) intolerance occurs frequently in hospitalized patients and more so in critically ill patients. Most critical care nurses continue to assess gastric residual volume (GRV), especially among those with a history of ETF intolerance. We hypothesized that ultrasound assessment of GRV correlates directly with aspirated tube feed volume. Methods: This was a prospective cohort study of a convenience sample of critically ill mechanically ventilated patients admitted to an intensive care unit receiving ETF. The gastric antrum was imaged using the aorta and inferior vena cava (IVC) as landmarks concurrently and simultaneously using a curvilinear probe in the midline. All ultrasound measurements were performed at 30 degrees head up, in the supine position, and prior to the assessment of GRV by nursing staff blinding the ultrasonographer to gastric volume aspirated. Gastric antral area was determined by assessing anteroposterior (AP) and craniocaudal (CC) diameters of the gastric antrum. Results: Gastric cross‐sectional area (CSA) using IVC as a landmark (R2 = 0.92, P < .0001) and aorta as a landmark (R2 = 0.86, P < .0001) correlated with aspirated volume. CC diameter of the stomach measured using the aorta as a landmark correlated with aspirated volume and increased linearly with increasing GRV (R2 = 0.78, P < .0001). A CC diameter of <10 cm using the aorta as a landmark predicted a gastric volume of <500 mL. Conclusions: Ultrasound assessment provides accurate assessment of gastric volume in real‐life settings, and the CC diameter of the gastric antrum provides a simple surrogate of GRV.
Revisiting Ultrasound-Guided Subclavian/Axillary Vein Cannulations: Importance of Pleural Avoidance With Rib Trajectory
Authors: Senussi Mourad H. , Kantamneni Phani C. , Omranian Ali , Latifi Mani , Hanane Tarik , Mireles-Cabodevila Eduardo , Chaisson Neal F. , Duggal Abhijit , Moghekar Ajit
Published: March 2017

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines for the prevention of catheter-related bloodstream infections suggest using “a subclavian site, rather than an internal jugular or a femoral site, in adult patients.” This recommendation is based on evidence of lower rates of thrombosis and catheter-related bloodstream infections in patients with subclavian central venous catheters (CVCs) compared to femoral or internal jugular sites. However, preference toward a subclavian approach to CVC insertion is hindered by increased risk of mechanical complications, especially pneumothorax, when compared to other sites. This is largely related to the proximity of the subclavian vein to the pleural space and the traditional “blind” or anatomic landmark approach used in subclavian vein cannulation. We revisit a method that may provide increased safety and avoidance of pneumothorax during ultrasound-guided subclavian/axillary vein cannulation. This is achieved by directing the needle toward the subclavian vein at a point where it traverses over the second rib, providing a protective rib shield between the vessel and pleura as a safety net for operators. The technique also allows for increased compressibility of the subclavian/axillary vein in the event of bleeding complication.
Heat-resistant and photoluminescent indole-based poly(ether sulfone)s
Authors: Wei Wenxuan , Yang Li , Chang Guanjun
Published: March 2017

Indole-based poly(ether sulfone)s (PINESs), as novel high-performance polymers, have been obtained by the condensation polymerization of 4-hydroxyindole and hydroquinone with activated difluoro monomers via a catalyst-free nucleophilic substitution reaction. The structures of the polymers are characterized by means of Fourier transform infrared and proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, and the results show good agreement with the proposed structures. Differential scanning calorimetry and thermogravimetric analysis measurements exhibit that polymers possess high glass transition temperature ( Tgs > 245°C) and good thermal stability with high decomposition temperatures ( Tds > 440°C). In addition, due to their special structure, PINESs are endowed with significantly strong photonic luminescence in N, N-dimethylformamide.
Older Lesbians, Gay Men and the ‘Right to Die’ Debate
Authors: Westwood Sue
Published: March 2017

This article considers the ‘right to die’ debate from the perspectives of older lesbians and gay men, drawing upon data gathered for a PhD in law. My argument is that older lesbians and gay men are multiply disadvantaged (a) by an increased risk of feeling that life is not worth living due to affective inequalities (inadequate informal and formal social support) and (b) by a denial of access to the right to die both under such circumstances and/or if they wish to resist the normativities associated with a passive, medicalized death. I argue for the need to distinguish between a wish to die because of deficiencies in the care system and a wish to die in order to control how, when and where one’s life ends. My analysis highlights the contextual contingencies of ‘vulnerability’ in relation to the right to die and interrogates the heterosexist and disciplinary reproductive normativities underpinning the notions of ‘natural’ deaths.
Wagner, Hitler, and Germany’s Rebirth after the First World War
Authors: Ian Hall David
Published: March 2017

This article examines German national renewal following defeat in the First World War. It emphasizes the importance of a ‘unique’ German culture, particularly the music dramas of Richard Wagner, in the politics of pan-German nationalists, Hitler, and the National Socialist Party. Hitler believed national revival depended on the rebirth of German culture, a concept that predated the war and was popular in völkisch circles and the radical right. Hitler owed his rise from obscurity as much to his appeal to cultural longings, which enabled him to attract the attention of Bavaria’s elite, as he did to his political ideas and abilities.
Disability and Social Exclusion
Authors: Tobias Elina I. , Mukhopadhyay Sourav
Published: March 2017

This article explores the experiences of social exclusion of individuals with visual impairment (IWVI) as they negotiate their daily lives in their homes and societal settings in the Oshana and Oshikoto regions of Namibia. Employing qualitative research approach, this research tried to better understand the lived experiences of IWVI. Nine IWVI with ages ranging from 30 to 90 years were initially engaged in focus group discussions, followed by semi-structured in-depth individual interviews. The findings of this research indicated that IWVI experience exclusion from education, employment and social and community participation as well as relationships. Based on these findings, we suggest more inclusive policies to address social exclusion of IWVI. At the same time, this group of individuals should be empowered to participate in community activities to promote interaction with people without visual impairments.
Who Adopts Biogas in Rural India? Evidence from a Nationwide Survey
Authors: Das Daisy , Goswami Kishor , Hazarika Atanu
Published: March 2017

Biogas is a viable alternative for supplying clean and sustainable energy. Despite all manner of policy measures introduced by the Government of India, biogas is not widely used in India. This article tries to identify factors that influence the decision to adopt biogas at household level. We examine a conceptual framework empirically in which a household wants to maximize utility from biogas by using the India Human Development Survey (IHDS) I, which is a nationally representative, multi-topic survey. By applying both maximum likelihood and penalized likelihood methods (Firthlogit) of logistic regression on a sample size of almost 10,384 households, it has been found that wealthy people are more likely to adopt biogas compared to the marginalized section of the society. We recommend more inclusive policy measures for the weaker section of the society to create an enabling environment to make it a self-promoting technology.
On the Materialization of Hormone Treatment Risks
Authors: Irni Sari
Published: March 2017

With a focus on hormone treatments, this article contributes to recent problematizations of the ontology of bodies, illnesses and medication. Hormone treatment is conventionally understood to comprise preparations like pills, patches or injections, and following from this understanding, the materiality of risk is perceived as potential adverse effects of pharmaceuticals within individual bodies. By discussing Finnish trans persons’ experiences of hormone treatments, and drawing from material feminisms and trans/feminist studies, this article rethinks what ‘hormone treatments’ and their risks materially entail. Stressing the importance of accounting for the relationality of risks, the article suggests that hormone treatment risks can be seen as Baradian ‘phenomena’ that materialize contextually within specific ‘treatment apparatuses’ and the power relations that saturate them. This process of materialization includes the gendering of risks and how the gender binary itself may at times constitute a risk.
Staging Embryos
Authors: DiCaglio Sara
Published: March 2017

The founding of the Carnegie Institute’s Department of Embryology in 1913, alongside its systematization of embryo staging, contributed to the mechanization of developmental stages of embryo growth in the early 20th century. For a brief period in the middle of the century, attention to the detailed interrelation between embryo development and time made pre-existing ideas about pregnancy ends less determinative of ideas about that developmental course. However, the turn to the genetic scale led to the disappearance of this attention, replaced by a sense of biological life as seamlessly scripted. This study examines the history of what I refer to as temporal attention: attention to the live, unfolding potentialities within vital matter. The reintroduction of temporal attention to discussions of development allows us to more fully consider non-human vitality and the experiences of beings that house or otherwise intimately intersect with that vital tissue, regardless of outcomes.
Sticks and stones: Comparing Twitter campaigning strategies in the European Union referendum
Authors: Usherwood Simon , Wright Katharine AM
Published: March 2017

Both camps made extensive use of social media during the referendum, both to mobilise existing supporters and to convert new ones. However, the three main groups—Stronger In, Vote Leave and Leave.EU—each took differing strategies within this. Drawing on tweets published by the groups, the article compares the use of different positive and negative frames, as well as the thematic content. While reinforcing other work that shows differentials in focus on specific themes—economics for Stronger In, politics and immigration for the Leave groups—the analysis also highlights the use on both sides of ‘sticks’ (capitalisation on the other side’s errors) and ‘stones’ (new issues and framings that the group brings to the debate). If the latter constituted the pre-game plan, then the former became a substantial part of the practical application during the campaign, a development reinforced by the nature of the medium itself.
Featured Article: Pyruvate preserves antiglycation defenses in porcine brain after cardiac arrest
Authors: Scott Gary F , Nguyen Anh Q , Cherry Brandon H , Hollrah Roger A , Salinas Isabella , Williams Arthur G , Ryou Myoung-Gwi , Mallet Robert T
Published: March 2017

Cardiac arrest (CA) and cardiocerebral resuscitation (CCR)-induced ischemia–reperfusion imposes oxidative and carbonyl stress that injures the brain. The ischemic shift to anaerobic glycolysis, combined with oxyradical inactivation of glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH), provokes excessive formation of the powerful glycating agent, methylglyoxal. The glyoxalase (GLO) system, comprising the enzymes glyoxalase 1 (GLO1) and GLO2, utilizes reduced glutathione (GSH) supplied by glutathione reductase (GR) to detoxify methylglyoxal resulting in reduced protein glycation. Pyruvate, a natural antioxidant that augments GSH redox status, could sustain the GLO system in the face of ischemia–reperfusion. This study assessed the impact of CA-CCR on the cerebral GLO system and pyruvate’s ability to preserve this neuroprotective system following CA. Domestic swine were subjected to 10 min CA, 4 min closed-chest CCR, defibrillation and 4 h recovery, or to a non-CA sham protocol. Sodium pyruvate or NaCl control was infused (0.1 mmol/kg/min, intravenous) throughout CCR and the first 60 min recovery. Protein glycation, GLO1 content, and activities of GLO1, GR, and GAPDH were analyzed in frontal cortex biopsied at 4 h recovery. CA-CCR produced marked protein glycation which was attenuated by pyruvate treatment. GLO1, GR, and GAPDH activities fell by 86, 55, and 30%, respectively, after CA-CCR with NaCl infusion. Pyruvate prevented inactivation of all three enzymes. CA-CCR sharply lowered GLO1 monomer content with commensurate formation of higher molecular weight immunoreactivity; pyruvate preserved GLO1 monomers. Thus, ischemia–reperfusion imposed by CA-CCR disabled the brain’s antiglycation defenses. Pyruvate preserved these enzyme systems that protect the brain from glycation stress.

Impact statement

Recent studies have demonstrated a pivotal role of protein glycation in brain injury. Methylglyoxal, a by-product of glycolysis and a powerful glycating agent in brain, is detoxified by the glutathione-catalyzed glyoxalase (GLO) system, but the impact of cardiac arrest (CA) and cardiocerebral resuscitation (CCR) on the brain’s antiglycation defenses is unknown. This study in a swine model of CA and CCR demonstrated for the first time that the intense cerebral ischemia–reperfusion imposed by CA-resuscitation disabled glyoxalase-1 and glutathione reductase (GR), the source of glutathione for methylglyoxal detoxification. Moreover, intravenous administration of pyruvate, a redox-active intermediary metabolite and antioxidant in brain, prevented inactivation of glyoxalase-1 and GR and blunted protein glycation in cerebral cortex. These findings in a large mammal are first evidence of GLO inactivation and the resultant cerebral protein glycation after CA-resuscitation, and identify novel actions of pyruvate to minimize protein glycation in postischemic brain.
Bendamustine and its role in the treatment of unfit patients with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia: a perspective review
Authors: Al-Sawaf Othman , Cramer Paula , Goede Valentin , Hallek Michael , Pflug Natali
Published: March 2017

With a median age of 72 years at first diagnosis, chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) is a disease of the elderly. At this age, many patients cannot bear an intensive chemoimmunotherapy like fludarabine, cyclophosphamide and rituximab (FCR), and therapeutic decisions are commonly complicated by a high burden of accompanying comorbidities. Clinical trials, on the other hand, are mostly designed to include a far healthier and younger trial population, with a median age in most studies well below 70 years, leading to an insufficient reflection of clinical reality. With the introduction of new targeted therapies, treatment of CLL is currently undergoing a profound change. New compounds like ibrutinib or idelalisib have enlarged the therapeutic options in treating CLL. However, so far, these oral medications imply continuous intake by the patient, which will at some point lead to the issue of adherence in most patients. In addition, long-term experiences are largely missing. In this setting, one of the oldest chemoactive substances remains a viable option for many CLL patients and their treating physicians: bendamustine, a nitrogen–mustard derivative, has proven to be a safe and efficient agent for treatment of CLL in the first- and second-line setting. In particular, there is some evidence that the substance is relatively well tolerated in elderly and unfit patients. In this review, we summarize the current data on bendamustine in the treatment of elderly and unfit patients with CLL and aim to provide a concise analysis and outlook on the current and future role of this substance in the era of new targeted agents.
HEART score performance in Asian and Caucasian patients presenting to the emergency department with suspected acute coronary syndrome
Authors: de Hoog Vince C , Lim Swee Han , Bank Ingrid EM , Gijsberts Crystel M , Ibrahim Irwani B , Kuan Win Sen , Ooi Shirley BS , Chua Terrance SJ , Tai E Shyong , Gao Fei , Pasterkamp Gerard , den Ruijter Hester M , Doevendans Pieter A , Wildbergh Thierry X , Mosterd Arend , Richards A Mark , de Kleijn Dominique PV , Timmers Leo
Published: March 2017

Background:

The HEART score is a simple and effective tool to predict short-term major adverse cardiovascular events in patients suspected of acute coronary syndrome. Patients are assigned to three risk categories using History, ECG, Age, Risk factors and Troponin (HEART). The purpose is early rule out and discharge is considered safe for patients in the low risk category. Its performance in patients of Asian ethnicity is unknown. We evaluated the performance of the HEART score in patients of Caucasian, Chinese, Indian and Malay ethnicity.

Methods:

The HEART score was assessed retrospectively in 3456 patients presenting to the emergency department with suspected acute coronary syndrome (1791 Caucasians, 1059 Chinese, 344 Indians, 262 Malays), assigning them into three risk categories.

Results:

The incidence of major adverse cardiovascular events within six weeks after presentation was similar between the ethnic groups. A smaller proportion of Caucasians was in the low risk category compared with Asians (Caucasians 35.8%, Chinese 43.5%, Indians 45.3%, Malays 44.7%, p<0.001). The negative predictive value of a low HEART score was comparable across the ethnic groups, but lower than previously reported (Caucasians 95.3%, Chinese 95.0%, Indians 96.2%, Malays 96.6%). Also the c-statistic for the HEART score was not significantly different between the groups.

Conclusions:

These results show that the overall performance of the HEART score is equal among Caucasian and Asian ethnic groups. The event rate in the low risk group, however, was higher than reported in previous studies, which queries the safety of early discharge of patients in the low risk category.