bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Long-term occlusion results with SILK flow diversion in 28 aneurysms: Do recanalizations occur during follow-up?
Authors: Mpotsaris Anastasios , Skalej Martin , Beuing Oliver , Eckert Bernd , Behme Daniel , Weber Werner
Published: May 2015

Background and purpose

The purpose of this article is to report on the long-term success rates of Silk flow-diverter (FD) treatment in a multicenter prospective study for the treatment of complex aneurysms.

Methods

Between May 2008 and January 2011, all consecutive patients featuring complex intracranial aneurysms eligible for FD treatment with the Silk in three neurovascular centers were included. Clinical and imaging data were assessed during hospitalization and follow-up.

Results

Five patients were initially asymptomatic, 20 patients showed various neurological symptoms. Twenty-eight FDs were implanted in 25 patients treating 28 aneurysms. The immediate procedure-related morbidity was 8% (two of 25), mortality 0%. One procedure-related death was observed during follow-up (in-stent thrombosis). Compared to the immediate result nearly two of three aneurysms improved during follow-up; all angiographically confirmed inflow changes took place within six months after treatment. Final anatomic outcome in 24 aneurysms of 22 patients comprised 14 (59%) with complete occlusion, seven (29%) with a neck remnant, two (8%) with residual filling <50%, none with residual filling >50% and one (4%) unchanged in comparison to its pretreatment status. Postinterventional recanalizations were seen in three of 13 (23%) aneurysms treated with FD alone; none were observed in 15 aneurysms treated with adjunctive coiling.

Conclusion

Anatomic presentation and location are key for successful FD treatment. The rate of successful occlusion increases during follow-up. Postinterventional monitoring for at least six months is paramount, as anatomic outcome is not reliably predictable and recanalizations may occur in initially completely occluded aneurysms.
Vedolizumab: an α4β7 integrin antagonist for ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease
Authors: Cherry Lauren N. , Yunker Nancy S. , Lambert Erika R. , Vaughan DaleMarie , Lowe Denise K.
Published: May 2015

Ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn’s disease (CD) are chronic, relapsing inflammatory bowel diseases associated with significant morbidity. Conventional therapies for these diseases include corticosteroids, aminosalicylates, immunomodulators, and monoclonal antibodies. Over the years tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α antagonists alone or in combination with other therapies have emerged as the cornerstone of treatment for induction and maintenance of remission of moderate to severe UC and CD. Unfortunately, some patients with moderate to severe UC and CD are unable to attain or maintain remission with TNF-α antagonist treatment. Vedolizumab, a humanized monoclonal antibody, is the first integrin receptor antagonist approved that selectively antagonizes α4β7 gastrointestinal integrin receptors. US Food and Drug Administration approval is for treatment of patients with moderate to severe active UC and CD who have inadequate response with, lost response to, or are intolerant to a TNF-α antagonist or an immunomodulator; or have inadequate response with, are intolerant to, or demonstrate dependence on corticosteroids. When administered according to approved dosing in patients with moderate to severe CD and UC, vedolizumab induces clinical response rates up to 31.4% and 47.1% at week 6, and clinical remission rates up to 39% and 41.8% at week 52, respectively. Serious adverse events reported with vedolizumab include serious infections, malignancies, and anaphylaxis. Since vedolizumab is gastrointestinal selective, to date, it has not shown evidence of causing progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy; however, postmarketing studies monitoring for this adverse effect are ongoing. Further assessment of vedolizumab earlier in the course of these diseases and in combination with other therapies is warranted.
Impact of air quality on lung health: myth or reality?
Authors: Marino Elisa , Caruso Massimo , Campagna Davide , Polosa Riccardo
Published: May 2015

The respiratory system is a primary target of the harmful effects of key air pollutants of health concern. Several air pollutants have been implicated including particulate matter (PM), ozone (O3), nitrogen dioxide (NO2) polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). It is well known that episodes of exposure to high concentrations of outdoor air pollutants can cause acute respiratory exacerbations. However, there is now increasing evidence suggesting that significant exposure to outdoor air pollutants may be also associated with development of lung cancer and with incident cases of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and respiratory allergies. Here we provide a critical appraisal of the impact of air pollution on respiratory diseases and discuss strategies for preventing excessive exposure to harmful air pollutants. However, the evidence that significant exposure to air pollutants is causing COPD, lung cancer or respiratory allergies is not conclusive and therefore regulators must be aware that execution of clean air policies may not be that cost-effective and may lead to unintended consequences. Addressing the lung health effects of air pollution must be considered work in progress.
Qualitative Inquiry and Emerging Adulthood
Authors: Schwab Joseph R. , Syed Moin
Published: May 2015

Qualitative methods are viewed as central to the theory of emerging adulthood, but there remains a relative dearth of qualitative inquiry that fully captures the richness and complexities of emerging adulthood life. One of the challenges to conducting such research is the lack of familiarity with qualitative methods. Accordingly, this article describes foundational issues in qualitative inquiry by delineating the commonalities among all qualitative approaches. Meta-theoretical issues regarding ontology, epistemology, and methodology are discussed, as rigorous qualitative inquiry must always be aware of and transparent about how these issues inform and constrain the methods used. A step-by-step guide––including design of research questions, methods of data collection, sampling, and analysis––is presented to demonstrate how to conduct research that fully utilizes the affordances of rigorous qualitative inquiry. Examples from research on emerging adulthood are used to illustrate each decision made during the qualitative inquiry research process.
Engendering Political Science in the Classroom
Authors: Jha Shefali
Published: May 2015

The discipline of political science is concerned with differentials of power between groups. One of the starkest power differentials in society exists between men and women. Women are overwhelmingly represented in the category of unpaid workers, and noticeably absent in the category of property ownership, to give just one example. Is it enough for political science to add gender as one component to its other categories of caste and class, for instance, when it analyzes how power is structured in society? This article is a call for moving beyond this to examine the gendered nature of the concepts—of citizenship, productive work, social contract and the public and private—of political science.
The human microbiome in hematopoiesis and hematologic disorders
Authors: Manzo Veronica E. , Bhatt Ami S.
Published: May 2015

Humans are now understood to be in complex symbiosis with a diverse ecosystem of microbial organisms, including bacteria, viruses, and fungi. Efforts to characterize the role of these microorganisms, commonly referred as the microbiota, in human health have sought to answer the fundamental questions of what organisms are present, how are they functioning to interact with human cells, and by what mechanism are these interactions occurring. In this review, we describe recent efforts to describe the microbiota in healthy and diseased individuals, summarize the role of various molecular technologies (ranging from 16S ribosomal RNA to shotgun metagenomic sequencing) in enumerating the community structure of the microbiota, and explore known interactions between the microbiota and humans, with a focus on the microbiota’s role in hematopoiesis and hematologic diseases.
Characterization of Conventional One-Step Sodium Thiosulfate Facilitated Gold Nanoparticle Synthesis
Authors: Saverot Scott-Eugene , Reese Laura M , Cimini Daniela , Vikesland Peter J , Bickford Lissett Ramirez
Published: May 2015

Gold-gold sulfide nanoparticles are of interest for drug delivery, biomedical imaging, and photothermal therapy applications due to a facile synthesis method resulting in small particles with high near-infrared (NIR) absorption efficiency. Previous studies suggest that the NIR sensitivity of these nanoparticles was due to hexagonally shaped metal-coated dielectric nanoparticles that consist of a gold sulfide core and gold shell. Here, we illustrate that the conventional synthesis procedure results in the formation of polydisperse samples of icosahedral gold particles, gold nanoplates, and small gold spheres. Importantly, through compositional analysis, via UV/vis absorption spectrophotometry, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDS), we show that all of the nanoparticles exhibit identical face center cubic (FCC) gold crystalline structures, thus suggesting that sulfide is not present in the final fabricated nanoparticles. We show that icosahedrally shaped nanoparticles result in a blue-shifted absorbance, with a peak in the visible range. Alternatively, the nanoplate nanoparticles result in the characteristic NIR absorbance peak. Thus, we report that the NIR-contributing species in conventional gold-gold sulfide formulations are nanoplates that are comprised entirely of gold. Furthermore, polydisperse gold nanoparticle samples produced by the traditional one-step reduction of HAuCl4 by sodium thiosulfate show increased in vitro toxicity, compared to isolated and more homogeneous constituent samples. This result exemplifies the importance of developing monodisperse nanoparticle formulations that are well characterized in order to expedite the development of clinically beneficial nanomaterials.
A bioinformatic framework for immune repertoire diversity profiling enables detection of immunological status
Authors: Greiff Victor , Bhat Pooja , Cook Skylar C. , Menzel Ulrike , Kang Wenjing , Reddy Sai T.
Published: May 2015

Background

Lymphocyte receptor repertoires are continually shaped throughout the lifetime of an individual in response to environmental and pathogenic exposure. Thus, they may serve as a fingerprint of an individual’s ongoing immunological status (e.g., healthy, infected, vaccinated), with far-reaching implications for immunodiagnostics applications. The advent of high-throughput immune repertoire sequencing now enables the interrogation of immune repertoire diversity in an unprecedented and quantitative manner. However, steadily increasing sequencing depth has revealed that immune repertoires vary greatly among individuals in their composition; correspondingly, it has been reported that there are few shared sequences indicative of immunological status ('public clones'). Disconcertingly, this means that the wealth of information gained from repertoire sequencing remains largely unused for determining the current status of immune responses, thereby hampering the implementation of immune-repertoire-based diagnostics.

Methods

Here, we introduce a bioinformatics repertoire-profiling framework that possesses the advantage of capturing the diversity and distribution of entire immune repertoires, as opposed to singular public clones. The framework relies on Hill-based diversity profiles composed of a continuum of single diversity indices, which enable the quantification of the extent of immunological information contained in immune repertoires.

Results

We coupled diversity profiles with unsupervised (hierarchical clustering) and supervised (support vector machine and feature selection) machine learning approaches in order to correlate patients’ immunological statuses with their B- and T-cell repertoire data. We could predict with high accuracy (greater than or equal to 80 %) a wide range of immunological statuses such as healthy, transplantation recipient, and lymphoid cancer, suggesting as a proof of principle that diversity profiling can recover a large amount of immunodiagnostic fingerprints from immune repertoire data. Our framework is highly scalable as it easily allowed for the analysis of 1000 simulated immune repertoires; this exceeds the size of published immune repertoire datasets by one to two orders of magnitude.

Conclusions

Our framework offers the possibility to advance immune-repertoire-based fingerprinting, which may in the future enable a systems immunogenomics approach for vaccine profiling and the accurate and early detection of disease and infection.
Approaches for estimating minimal clinically important differences in systemic lupus erythematosus
Authors: Rai Sharan K , Yazdany Jinoos , Fortin Paul R , Aviña-Zubieta J Antonio
Published: May 2015

A minimal clinically important difference (MCID) is an important concept used to determine whether a medical intervention improves perceived outcomes in patients. Prior to the introduction of the concept in 1989, studies focused primarily on statistical significance. As most recent clinical trials in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) have failed to show significant effects, determining a clinically relevant threshold for outcome scores (that is, the MCID) of existing instruments may be critical for conducting and interpreting meaningful clinical trials as well as for facilitating the establishment of treatment recommendations for patients. To that effect, methods to determine the MCID can be divided into two well-defined categories: distribution-based and anchor-based approaches. Distribution-based approaches are based on statistical characteristics of the obtained samples. There are various methods within the distribution-based approach, including the standard error of measurement, the standard deviation, the effect size, the minimal detectable change, the reliable change index, and the standardized response mean. Anchor-based approaches compare the change in a patient-reported outcome to a second, external measure of change (that is, one that is more clearly understood, such as a global assessment), which serves as the anchor. Finally, the Delphi technique can be applied as an adjunct to defining a clinically important difference. Despite an abundance of methods reported in the literature, little work in MCID estimation has been done in the context of SLE. As the MCID can help determine the effect of a given therapy on a patient and add meaning to statistical inferences made in clinical research, we believe there ought to be renewed focus on this area. Here, we provide an update on the use of MCIDs in clinical research, review some of the work done in this area in SLE, and propose an agenda for future research.
RETRACTED ARTICLE: Combined effect of genetic background and gender in a mouse model of bleomycin-induced skin fibrosis
Authors: Ruzehaji Nadira , Avouac Jerome , Elhai Muriel , Frechet Maxime , Frantz Camelia , Ruiz Barbara , Distler Joerg H. , Allanore Yannick
Published: May 2015

Introduction

Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a connective tissue disorder characterised by the development of skin fibrosis. Our current understanding of the disease pathogenesis is incomplete and the study of SSc is hindered, at least partially, by a lack of animal models that fully replicate the complex state of human disease. Murine model of bleomycin-induced dermal fibrosis encapsulates important events that take place early in the disease course.

Methods

To characterise the optimum in vivo parameters required for the successful induction of dermal fibrosis we subjected three commonly used mouse strains to repeated subcutaneous bleomycin injections. We aimed to identify the effects of genetic background and gender on the severity of skin fibrosis. We used male and female Balb/C, C57BL/6, and DBA/2 strains and assessed their susceptibility to bleomycin-induced fibrosis by measuring dermal thickness, hydroxyproline/collagen content and number of resident myofibroblasts, all of which are important indicators of the severity of skin fibrosis. All data are expressed as mean values ± SEM. The Mann–Whitney U test was used for statistical analysis with GraphPad Prism 6.04 software.

Results

Dermal fibrosis was most severe in Balb/C mice compared to C57BL/6 and DBA/2 suggesting that Balb/C mice are more susceptible to bleomycin-induced fibrosis. Analysis of the effect of gender on the severity of fibrosis showed that male Balb/C, C57BL/6, DBA/2 mice had a tendency to develop more pronounced fibrosis phenotype than female mice. Of potential importance, male Balb/C mice developed the most severe fibrosis phenotype compared to male C57BL/6 and male DBA/2 as indicated by significantly increased number of dermal myofibroblasts.

Conclusion

Our study highlights the importance of genetic background and gender in the induction of murine dermal fibrosis. Robust and reproducible animal models of fibrosis are important research tools used in pharmacological studies which may lead to better understanding of the pathogenesis of fibrotic diseases and assist in identification of new drugs.
Grammatical metaphor: What do we mean? What exactly are we researching?
Authors: Devrim Devo Y
Published: May 2015

This paper aims to explore grammatical metaphor (GM) from a theoretical perspective. In order to achieve this, the paper firstly presents two models that theorize GM, namely the stratal model (Halliday, 1985a, 1988, 1998; Martin, 1992a, 1993b; Halliday & Martin, 1993) and the semantic model (Halliday & Matthiessen, 1999). GM types and instances show differences according to the model that theorizes GM; the paper, therefore, will explore the types and instances of GM. This will be followed by research studies that investigated the development of GM in language development and language education in order to present how GM theorization has been applied in literature. Finally, the paper will recount of a recent research study (Devrim, 2013) that aimed to develop an approach to teaching GM using an integrated model. The paper will conclude with a discussion and pedagogical implications for researchers and educators.
New Database for Foundation and Ground Performance in Liquefaction Experiments
Authors: Allmond Jacquelyn , Kutter Bruce L. , Bray Jonathan , Hayden Connor
Published: May 2015

Physical modeling of buildings founded on layers of liquefiable sand has produced insightful data describing ground and building performance. A new publicly available NEEShub database, “FLIQ,” summarizes data from 9 large-scale centrifuge tests with 4 different lead experimentalists, various soil profiles, 49 stations of site and structure response, and more than 60 shaking events, that is, 405 events in total. Example correlations between ground-motion intensity measures and performance measures are presented to illustrate the usefulness of the database. The relationship between PGA at the surface and base is highly variable when liquefaction is observed; however, the relationship between the cumulative absolute velocity ( CAV) at the surface and base is relatively linear, even when liquefaction occurs. Additionally, the CAV was found to correlate well with settlement and can account for settlement history. Contrary to intuition, foundation settlement in liquefied soil is not directly correlated to bearing pressure; larger bearing pressures can decrease liquefaction occurrence and related settlements. The database has potential to grow through future community input.
Is “cooling then freezing” a humane way to kill amphibians and reptiles?
Authors: Shine Richard , Amiel Joshua , Munn Adam J. , Stewart Mathew , Vyssotski Alexei L. , Lesku John A.
Published: May 2015

What is the most humane way to kill amphibians and small reptiles that are used in research? Historically, such animals were often killed by cooling followed by freezing, but this method was outlawed by ethics committees because of concerns that ice-crystals may form in peripheral tissues while the animal is still conscious, putatively causing intense pain. This argument relies on assumptions about the capacity of such animals to feel pain, the thermal thresholds for tissue freezing, the temperature-dependence of nerve-impulse transmission and brain activity, and the magnitude of thermal differentials within the bodies of rapidly-cooling animals. A review of published studies casts doubt on those assumptions, and our laboratory experiments on cane toads (Rhinella marina) show that brain activity declines smoothly during freezing, with no indication of pain perception. Thus, cooling followed by freezing can offer a humane method of killing cane toads, and may be widely applicable to other ectotherms (especially, small species that are rarely active at low body temperatures). More generally, many animal-ethics regulations have little empirical basis, and research on this topic is urgently required in order to reduce animal suffering.
Brachyury and SMAD signalling collaboratively orchestrate distinct mesoderm and endoderm gene regulatory networks in differentiating human embryonic stem cells
Authors: Faial Tiago , Bernardo Andreia S. , Mendjan Sasha , Diamanti Evangelia , Ortmann Daniel , Gentsch George E. , Mascetti Victoria L. , Trotter Matthew W. B. , Smith James C. , Pedersen Roger A.
Published: May 2015

The transcription factor brachyury (T, BRA) is one of the first markers of gastrulation and lineage specification in vertebrates. Despite its wide use and importance in stem cell and developmental biology, its functional genomic targets in human cells are largely unknown. Here, we use differentiating human embryonic stem cells to study the role of BRA in activin A-induced endoderm and BMP4-induced mesoderm progenitors. We show that BRA has distinct genome-wide binding landscapes in these two cell populations, and that BRA interacts and collaborates with SMAD1 or SMAD2/3 signalling to regulate the expression of its target genes in a cell-specific manner. Importantly, by manipulating the levels of BRA in cells exposed to different signalling environments, we demonstrate that BRA is essential for mesoderm but not for endoderm formation. Together, our data illuminate the function of BRA in the context of human embryonic development and show that the regulatory role of BRA is context dependent. Our study reinforces the importance of analysing the functions of a transcription factor in different cellular and signalling environments.
A transcriptional network controlling glial development in theDrosophilavisual system
Authors: Bauke Ann-Christin , Sasse Sofia , Matzat Till , Klämbt Christian
Published: May 2015

In the nervous system, glial cells need to be specified from a set of progenitor cells. In the developing Drosophila eye, perineurial glia proliferate and differentiate as wrapping glia in response to a neuronal signal conveyed by the FGF receptor pathway. To unravel the underlying transcriptional network we silenced all genes encoding predicted DNA-binding proteins in glial cells using RNAi. Dref and other factors of the TATA box-binding protein-related factor 2 (TRF2) complex were previously predicted to be involved in cellular metabolism and cell growth. Silencing of these genes impaired early glia proliferation and subsequent differentiation. Dref controls proliferation via activation of the Pdm3 transcription factor, whereas glial differentiation is regulated via Dref and the homeodomain protein Cut. Cut expression is controlled independently of Dref by FGF receptor activity. Loss- and gain-of-function studies show that Cut is required for glial differentiation and is sufficient to instruct the formation of membrane protrusions, a hallmark of wrapping glial morphology. Our work discloses a network of transcriptional regulators controlling the progression of a naïve perineurial glia towards the fully differentiated wrapping glia.
Rab8a vesicles regulate Wnt ligand delivery and Paneth cell maturation at the intestinal stem cell niche
Authors: Das Soumyashree , Yu Shiyan , Sakamori Ryotaro , Vedula Pavan , Feng Qiang , Flores Juan , Hoffman Andrew , Fu Jiang , Stypulkowski Ewa , Rodriguez Alexis , Dobrowolski Radek , Harada Akihiro , Hsu Wei , Bonder Edward M. , Verzi Michael P. , Gao Nan
Published: May 2015

Communication between stem and niche supporting cells maintains the homeostasis of adult tissues. Wnt signaling is a crucial regulator of the stem cell niche, but the mechanism that governs Wnt ligand delivery in this compartment has not been fully investigated. We identified that Wnt secretion is partly dependent on Rab8a-mediated anterograde transport of Gpr177 (wntless), a Wnt-specific transmembrane transporter. Gpr177 binds to Rab8a, depletion of which compromises Gpr177 traffic, thereby weakening the secretion of multiple Wnts. Analyses of generic Wnt/β-catenin targets in Rab8a knockout mouse intestinal crypts indicate reduced signaling activities; maturation of Paneth cells – a Wnt-dependent cell type – is severely affected. Rab8a knockout crypts show an expansion of Lgr5+ and Hopx+ cells in vivo. However, in vitro, the knockout enteroids exhibit significantly weakened growth that can be partly restored by exogenous Wnts or Gsk3β inhibitors. Immunogold labeling and surface protein isolation identified decreased plasma membrane localization of Gpr177 in Rab8a knockout Paneth cells and fibroblasts. Upon stimulation by exogenous Wnts, Rab8a-deficient cells show ligand-induced Lrp6 phosphorylation and transcriptional reporter activation. Rab8a thus controls Wnt delivery in producing cells and is crucial for Paneth cell maturation. Our data highlight the profound tissue plasticity that occurs in response to stress induced by depletion of a stem cell niche signal.
Matrix metalloproteinase 9 modulates collagen matrices and wound repair
Authors: LeBert Danny C. , Squirrell Jayne M. , Rindy Julie , Broadbridge Elizabeth , Lui Yuming , Zakrzewska Anna , Eliceiri Kevin W. , Meijer Annemarie H. , Huttenlocher Anna
Published: May 2015

Acute and chronic injuries are characterized by leukocyte infiltration into tissues. Although matrix metalloproteinase 9 (Mmp9) has been implicated in both conditions, its role in wound repair remains unclear. We previously reported a zebrafish chronic inflammation mutant caused by an insertion in the hepatocyte growth factor activator inhibitor gene 1 (hai1; also known as spint1) that is characterized by epithelial extrusions and neutrophil infiltration into the fin. Here, we performed a microarray analysis and found increased inflammatory gene expression in the mutant larvae, including a marked increase in mmp9 expression. Depletion of mmp9 partially rescued the chronic inflammation and epithelial phenotypes, in addition to restoring collagen fiber organization, as detected by second-harmonic generation imaging. Additionally, we found that acute wounding induces epithelial cell mmp9 expression and is associated with a thickening of collagen fibers. Interestingly, depletion of mmp9 impaired this collagen fiber reorganization. Moreover, mmp9 depletion impaired tissue regeneration after tail transection, implicating Mmp9 in acute wound repair. Thus, Mmp9 regulates both acute and chronic tissue damage and plays an essential role in collagen reorganization during wound repair.
The concept of vegetable world in the right
Authors: Минина Елена , Minina Elena
Published: May 2015

The article analyzes the concept of "vegetation" and its use in the current legislation, marks discussion points classification of individual objects to the vegetable world, identifies the main areas of regulation of protection and use of vegetation (except forests) at the moment, and highlighted the issue of the development of a special federal law on the protection of flora and its relationship with the Forest Code of the Russian Federation.
The legal problems of nature management in the field of land reclamation
Authors: Пышьева Елена , Pysheva Elena
Published: May 2015

The article explores the problems of nature management, which arise when reclamation activities are carried out on the land. The author reveals the relationship between complex use of natural resources in the process of land reclamation and their rational use. She come to conclusion, that an integrated approach to the land reclamation is manifested in two aspects of natural resource and environmental legislation: environmental and economic aspects.
Problemy i wyzwania Arctic governance
Authors: Madej Magdalena
Published: May 2015

Arctic governance: issues and future challenges The Arctic is the fastest warming part of the world. Thinning of sea ice and glacier retreat not only have an impact on the global weather but also give many economic opportunities in the region. New sea routes and shipping lanes in the North, as well as development of Arctic resources (especially oil and gas) make the region more attractive to global actors. The increasing importance of the Arctic in international affairs requires effective governance that can preserve the High North from a potential conflict and competition among the stakeholders. This article examines the nature and the scope of governance in the Arctic and shows a large spectrum of possible Arctic governance frameworks. It is concluded by a series of recommendations for good governance and cooperation in the North.
Prometejska racja stanu
Authors: Światłowski Bartosz
Published: May 2015

The Promethean reason of the state. The history of the Promethean movement in the Second Polish Republic

Prometheism, which started to develop in 1921, after the Polish‑Bolshevik Peace of Riga, was both an ideological and political project. The idea of liberating nations oppressed by the Soviet Union was accompanied by publishing activities, institutional and community network. The article presents the genesis of Prometheism, its geopolitical and historical sources, political provenance of its main activists, evolution of the movement in the 1930s and the institutional dimension of Polish Prometheists. The paper also discusses the most important views of the creators of the movement, including thoughts on Russian imperialism, solidarity with enslaved nations and the united fight for “our freedom and yours”, originating both in the sense of mission and the analysis of the Republic of Poland’s reason of state. The author focuses on two important elements of the movement – the realism of the political concept and the Promethean elite’s political thought about the state, the nation and the geopolitics of Eastern Europe.
Parlament Samów w Szwecji – forma przejściowa czy ostateczna?
Authors: Magiera Justyna
Published: May 2015

Sami Parliament in Sweden – a temporal or final institution?

The article examines the meaning of the Sami Parliament in Sweden from the perspective of the self‑determination discourse. The Sami Parliament is believed to be the most important political institution for contemporary Sami society. The creation of the Sami Parliament was a fundamental step for this society because it increased Sami minority influence. What is more, Sami people are the only minority in Sweden which has its own representative body. The author of the article analyses how this institution works as a part of the Swedish political system and in comparison to other similar institutions. The aim is to predict Sami Parliament’s possible ways of development and its future role within Sami society’s right to self‑determination.
The Squeaky Wheel Gets the Grease—An Empirical Analysis of Customer Voice and Firm Intervention on Twitter
Authors: Ma Liye , Sun Baohong , Kekre Sunder
Published: May 2015

Firms are increasingly engaging with customers on social media. Despite this heightened interest, guidance for effective engagement is lacking. In this study, we investigate customers’ compliments and complaints and firms’ service interventions on social media. We develop a dynamic choice model that explicitly accounts for the evolutions of both customers’ voicing decisions and their relationships with the firm. Voices are driven by both the customers’ underlying relationships and other factors such as redress seeking. We estimate the model using a unique data set of customer voices and service interventions on Twitter. We find that redress seeking is a major driver of customer complaints, and although service intervention improves relationships, it also encourages more complaints later. Because of this dual effect, firms are likely to underestimate the returns on service intervention if measured using only voices. Furthermore, we find an “error-correction” effect in certain situations, where customers compliment or complain when others voice the opposite opinions. Finally, we characterize the distinct voicing tendencies in different relationship states, and show that uncovering the underlying relationship states enables effective targeting. We are among the first to analyze individual customer level voice dynamics and to evaluate the effects of service intervention on social media.
Protecting students who raise concerns about care delivery
Authors: Glasper Alan
Published: May 2015

Alan Glasper, emeritus professor at the University of Southampton, discusses revised legislation launched in April 2015, which has been formulated to protect student nurses and midwives from retaliation or victimisation when they raise concerns about things they have witnessed in practice
Prevention and early detection of cervical cancer in the UK
Authors: Foran Claire , Brennan Arthur
Published: May 2015

This literature review explores the prevention and early detection of cervical cancer in the UK. Current findings indicate that there is a risk for women under the age of 25 years, who may develop cervical cancer. There appears to be a gap in UK policy that may overlook these women, who are beneath the age for initial screening but exceed the age for vaccination. Despite the inextricable link between sexual activity and cervical cancer, cervical screening and sexual health promotion still appear to be disjointed, and the role of a sexually transmitted infection leading to the development of cervical cancer has not been emphasised enough in public health messages. Further training should be provided and its impact monitored, designed to address this anomaly in health promotion. There are many barriers to health promotion including, those of a societal, cultural and religious nature. Additional research is required to ascertain the types of educational and awareness interventions that would be most effective in promoting and encouraging positive sexual behaviours among young people, and to explore how these might be successfully implemented.
Non-sting barrier cream in radiotherapy-induced skin reactions
Authors: Scott Audrey
Published: May 2015

A pilot evaluation was undertaken in 13 patients with head and neck cancer exploring the use of a non-sting barrier film (Sorbaderm®, Aspen Medical Europe Ltd). The Society of Radiographers issued guidance in 2013 warning their members that the use of Aqueous cream for moisturising the skin during radiotherapy was potentially harmful. Patients were monitored over a period of 6 weeks and the aim was to explore whether applying non-sting barrier cream provided a protective barrier that did not impair treatment, slowed or prevented skin damage, was easy and simple to apply for patients and carers, improved quality of life for patients during radiotherapy or aided healing. There appeared to be a delay in skin breakdown in this evaluation from week 3 to week 4 and then only mild pain was recorded and with a maximum Radiation Therapy Oncology Group scale of 2.5 in the patient that had combined chemotherapy and radiotherapy. The patients' overall assessment demonstrated that the use of non-sting barrier cream provided symptom relief in both dry, tightening and itching of the skin associated with radiotherapy. All except one patient found the cream easy to apply. The head and neck nursing team rated the product as ‘good’ to ‘very good’.
Late Brachial Artery Thrombosis after Supracondylar Humeral Fracture at 5 Years Old Boy
Authors: Tomaszewski Ryszard , Wozowicz Artur , Wysocka Paulina
Published: May 2015

Supracondylar fractures in children is a well known problem, but late neuro-vascular complications related to the fractures of the distal part of the humerus in children are rare. There has been presented the case of a patient after a supracondylar fracture with slow brachial artery thrombosis.
Production of Xylanase From Bacillus agaradhaerens DK-2386 Isolated from Korean Soil
Authors: Choi Ji-Hwi , Park Young-Seo , Bai Dong-Hoon
Published: May 2015

The optimum condition for the production of xylanase from Bacillus agaradhaerens DK-2386 isolated from Korean soil has been studied. The optimized medium composition for the production of xylanase from B. agaradhaerens DK-2386 was 1% (w/v) carboxymethyl cellulose, 2% (w/v) polypeptone, 0.1% (w/v) K2HPO4, 0.02% (w/ v) MgSO4, 1% (w/v) Na2CO3, and 1% (w/v) NaCl. The optimum pH of the medium was 9.0. For the production of xylanase, B. agaradhaerens DK-2386 was cultured under the optimized conditions for 24 h at 40oC with 160 rpm of agitation.
Nutritional and Metabolic Characteristics of High Fructose Corn Syrup and Its Effects on Health
Authors: Kim Hyemi , Jeong Jeongho , Go Gwang-woong
Published: May 2015

High fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is a liquid sweetener of glucose-fructose monomer mixture, commonly known as replacement for sucrose (table sugar). HFCS was first applied to food companies in the early 1970s ever since there was a huge increase of its use worldwide, especially in beverage and processed food. While the metabolic and nutritional characteristics of HFCS have been widely studied, only recently has the role of HFCS in metabolic syndrome and other health issues emerged. Studies in many laboratories worldwide have built the evidence that excessive consumption of HFCS plays a crucial role in insulin resistance, dyslipidemia, obesity, hypertension, and kidney disease. This manuscript reviews the history, manufacturing process, and nutritional and metabolic traits of HFCS and describes its involvement in the pathogenesis of metabolic syndromes and obesity.
Effects of Different Thermal Pre-treatment on the Quality Properties of Bell Pepper
Authors: Hwang In Guk , Kim Kwang Il , Jo Yeon Ji , Choi Mi Jung , Min Sang Gi , Yoo Seon Mi
Published: May 2015

The thermal pre-treatment is an important process to minimize quality change in main cooking or storage. This study was conducted to investigate the effect of different thermal pre-treatment methods (blanching, steaming, and stir-frying) on the quality properties of bell pepper (BP). Washed and sliced BP were treated by blanching (100°C, 1-10 min), steaming (100°C, 1-10 min), and stir-frying with oil (180°C, 10-70 sec). Raw and treated BP was measured for color, pH, hardness, proximate composition, ascorbic acid, free sugar, organic acid, and peroxidase activities. Color and hardness were significantly decreased by blanching, steaming, and stir-frying. Stir-frying, in particular, rapidly decreased the ΔE values and hardness of BP. Blanching and steaming slightly increased the pH compared with raw BP, whereas stir-frying rapidly decreased the pH values. Results showed that the proximate composition, ascorbic content, free sugar content, and organic acid content were significantly (p<0.05) affected by the thermal pre-treatment and that the loss rate varied among individual compounds. Blanching, steaming, and stir-frying significantly reduced the ascorbic acid content (29.4-55.2%), fructose content (8.6-45.1%), and glucose content (8.1- 41.9%) in the BP. Oxalic acid, citric acid, succinic acid, and furmaric acid as organic acid in BP were detected and their contents were significantly (p<0.05) reduced during thermal pre-treatment. In conclusion, the results demonstrated that steam treatment for 3 min could be the best optimal thermal pre-treatment condition for BP to minimize the quality changes.
Barcoding, phylogeography and species boundaries in clownfishes of the Indian Ocean
Authors: Dhaneesh Kottila Veettil , Kumar Thipramalai Thankappan Ajith , Kumar Appukuttannair Biju
Published: May 2015

In this study, barcoding of 13 clownfish species of the Indian Ocean was carried out to infer the phylogenetic relationships among them by analyzing cytochrome oxidase 1 (CO1) and cytochrome
Social and paralinguistic cues to sarcasm
Authors: Caucci Gina M. , Kreuz Roger J.
Published: May 2015

Speakers signal sarcastic intent in a variety of ways, including the words they use and the tone of voice they employ. In this paper, we investigate whether facial cues are also used to indicate sarcastic intent. Participants were audio- and videotaped as they engaged in tasks designed to elicit sarcasm. In order to assess how facial cues differed in terms of common ground, participant pairs were divided into pairs of friends and strangers. We provide evidence that sarcasm is also signaled by a variety of facial cues, such as movement of the head, eyes, and mouth, and these cues are more commonly employed by friends than by strangers.
Effect of humor on state anxiety and math performance
Authors: Ford Thomas E. , Ford Brianna L. , Boxer Christie F. , Armstrong Jacob
Published: May 2015

An experiment tested the hypothesis that exposure to humorous material prior to taking a difficult math test can inhibit the amount of anxiety associated with the test, and thus enhance performance. In keeping with our hypothesis, participants performed better on a math test after first being exposed to funny cartoons versus non-humorous poems or nothing at all. Mediation analyses suggest that state anxiety mediated the relationship between exposure to humorous cartoons and math performance. Participants who were first exposed to cartoons performed better on the math test because they felt less anxiety while taking the test.
A festivus for the restivus: Jewish-American comedians respond to Christmas as the national American holiday
Authors: Shouse Eric , Timberg Bernard
Published: May 2015

Drawing on scholars who have discussed humor's capacity to simultaneously unite and divide (Appel 1996; Mintz 1999; Meyer 2000) and on Kenneth Burke's (1969b) rhetoric of identification and division, this paper describes the rhetorical strategies Jewish-American humorists have used to respond to Christmas as a national American holiday. An examination of Jewish humor about Christmas contributes to the growing literature describing how Jewish humorists have helped shape American popular culture (Bloom 2003; Cohen 1987; Gabler 1988; Limon 2000; Zurawik 2003). In addition, our paper makes a theoretical contribution to the study of humor by expanding upon previous research that has focused on how humor creates unity and division. Specifically, we explain how humor can foster identification and division simultaneously not only between groups, but inside each of us, often resulting in partial forms of identification and division with our humorists.
Towards a better understanding of racist and ethnic humor
Authors: Cundall Michael
Published: May 2015

This paper argues for a broader understanding of racist and ethnic humor (or
Humor support in synchronous computer-mediated classroom discussions
Authors: Vandergriff Ilona , Fuchs Carolin
Published: May 2015

Computer-mediated communication (CMC), more than other media, has been associated with humor and joking (e.g., Crystal 2001, 2005; Danet 1998, 2001; del-Teso-Craviotto 2006; Fisher et al. 2000; Georgakopoulou 2005; Hancock 2004; Herring 1999, 2001; North 2007; Rellstab 2007; Rouzie 2001; Sotillo 2000). In text-based synchronous CMC, paralinguistic, gestural, mimetic, or other nonverbal cues are either lacking or are transcribed in some form (e.g.,
The use of co-textual irony markers in written discourse
Authors: Burgers Christian , van Mulken Margot , Schellens Peter Jan
Published: May 2015

Authors of written texts may mark the use of verbal irony in a variety of ways. One possibility for doing so is the use of so-called co-textual markers of irony (i.e., support strategies that open up a non-serious frame). This study aims to classify and categorize these co-textual irony markers. A content analysis of 2,042 co-textual utterances of irony across four text genres (advertisements, newspaper columns, book and film reviews, and letters to the editor) shows that three categories of support strategies could be identified: other ironic utterances, tropes and mood markers. The use of irony support strategies was positively related to the genre of newspaper columns: columns used more ironic utterances and tropes as irony support strategies than the other genres in the corpus.
The effect of joke-origin-induced expectancy on cognitive humor
Authors: Johnson Andrew J. , Mistry Kamleshwari
Published: May 2015

Four experiments explored the effect of humor expectancy on the cognitive evaluation of jokes. Participants read jokes purportedly delivered by celebrity comedians or celebrity non-comedians. Participants reported jokes in the comedian condition to be significantly more amusing (Experiment 1). Furthermore, this effect was repeated in a within-participants replication where celebrity comedians and celebrity non-comedians were matched on positive evaluations (Experiment 2). This indicates that the findings cannot be explained via differential positive attitudes towards the celebrities in each condition. In Experiment 3, different types of jokes (incongruency/nonsensical) and humor levels (high/low) were compared. The expectancy effect was found to be more pronounced for nonsensical jokes. This was argued to be due to nonsensical jokes being more uniquely associated with comedians, whereas the ubiquity of incongruency jokes dilutes any effect of expectancy. However, Experiment 4 demonstrated that the expectancy effect is contingent on the name of the comedian being observed. In summary, it is argued that prior exposure to the named comedian primes an expectancy of forthcoming humor; this expectancy influences humor ratings. These findings are consistent with Wimer and Beins (2008), who showed that priming humor expectations through joke ratings can influence cognitive humor. The current study may explain why new comics need to “win over the audience” whereas established comedians can rely upon the expectation of humor derived from past exposures.
The impact of disparaging humor content on the funniness of political jokes
Authors: Braun Annegret , Preiser Siegfried
Published: May 2015

The present study examines the extent to which the impression of funniness conveyed by political jokes is influenced by the disparaging contents of the jokes. Jokes directed against conservative politicians and jokes directed against left-wing politicians were judged by 152 participants of different ages and political orientations. As content predictors of joke judgment, measures of political orientation were collected, including conservatism, party preference and perceived likeability of conservative and left-wing politicians. Furthermore, the appreciation of different structures of humor was determined using the 3 WD humor test (Ruch 1995). The results of structural equation analyses provide evidence for a strong and substantial influence of political orientation on the preference of anti-left-wing jokes compared to anti-conservative jokes. The direction of this influence is in accordance with the predictions of the disparagement theories of humor. This study supports the impact of disparaging humor contents on the perceived funniness of political jokes.