bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Operation Thin Mint: Popular Geopolitics of Care and Post-9/11 Girlhood
Authors: Goerisch Denise
Published: April 2018

In response to the events of 9/11, the Girl Scouts of San Diego created a service programme within the annual Girl Scout cookie sale called Operation Thin Mint, which sends cookies to soldiers serving overseas. Representations of American patriotism and national identity are featured prominently throughout the cookie sale as girls come to embody America’s role in overseas military conflicts, an embodiment of everyday geopolitical processes that frame the US military as protector of American innocence, ideals and values. Scouts come to engage with political and economic systems that position them beyond their communities as they ‘sell the nation’ to consumers as a form of care, blurring the boundaries between the public and private spheres as well as the local and global. Based on an in-depth ethnographic study on the Girl Scout cookie sale, this article will examine the complex gendered relationship between the American military, girls’ bodies and care.
(Re)sourcing the Character and Resilience Manifesto: Suppressions and Slippages of (Re)presentation and Selective Affectivities
Authors: Burman Erica
Published: April 2018

This article offers a critical discursive reading of the 2014 Character and Resilience Manifesto (hereafter the Manifesto), focusing on the sources and legitimation strategies supporting its claims. As an All Party Parliamentary Group on Social Mobility document, the Manifesto traces both old and new discursive tropes framing policy strategy on education and social care, extending into current political agendas around mental health and well-being and even child safeguarding and securitisation. While the Manifesto’s supposed evidence-based claims draw extensively on a specifically commissioned literature review undertaken by Gutman and Schoon, problems are identified with how this is represented in the Manifesto, including significant omissions and slippages within Gutman and Schoon’s text and between this and the Manifesto. Analysis highlights exaggerations of the claims made in Gutman and Schoon’s review in the Manifesto while important conceptual clarifications (between resilience and coping and the non-generalisability of resilience) are overlooked. Commentators’ cautions over the evaluation and comparability of current programmes also fail to appear. Beyond such asymmetries, a common narrative identified across both texts reformulates emotions away from their ‘soft’, culturally feminised, associations to become ‘hard and tough’, and abstracted from relationship and (sociopolitical) context. Clearly, such gendering of emotions can be situated in relation to wider discourses of feminisation, alongside others de-emphasising classed and racialised inequalities. Overall, the Manifesto performs its own rhetoric, manifesting its own buoyancy to resist critical engagement and further the contemporary moral doctrine of inciting voluntarist optimistic subjects, devoid of attention to class, gender or racialised inequalities.
When school-based, in-service teacher training sharpens pedagogical awareness
Authors: Lund Lea
Published: April 2018

Research in the field of professional development (PD) stresses the importance of the development of professional learning communities (PLCs) designed to promote the process of inquiry in teaching. PLCs are of great importance with regard to both school improvement and in-service teacher training. This article shows that it is possible to teach teachers to reflect on their beliefs and actions, making them visible to teachers and their colleagues during a cooperative process of inquiry in the classroom. The empirical data stem from a 2-year, school-based, in-service teacher-training program involving 16 teachers at two Danish high schools. The research question is ‘how can teachers’ reflections, pedagogical awareness, and perspectives on their beliefs be sharpened by in-service teacher training?’ With regard to school improvement, two conclusions are drawn: (1) teachers’ pedagogical awareness is sharpened and their classroom behavior and educational thinking change when their routine actions and thinking are questioned and scrutinized; (2) teachers who experiment systematically with their own teaching alongside their colleagues find the process and product rewarding.
Evacuation of Swedish survivors after the 2004 Southeast Asian tsunami: The survivors’ perspective and symptoms of post-traumatic stress
Authors: Gudmundsdottir Ragnhildur , Hultman Christina M. , Valdimarsdottir Unnur
Published: April 2018

Aims: Following the 2004 Southeast Asian tsunami, Swedish authorities received public criticism for slow implementation of rescue work. Meanwhile, data are scarce on survivors’ perspectives and potential mental health symptoms associated with timing of evacuation. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate survivors’ contentment with evacuation time and whether duration at disaster site following the 2004 tsunami was associated with post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) and psychological morbidity. Methods: Of 10,116 Swedish tsunami survivors who returned to Sweden in the first 3 weeks post tsunami, 4910 (49%) answered a questionnaire 14 months later including questions on evacuation time, contentment with evacuation time and PTSS (Impact of Event Scale). We used logistic regression to calculate odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) of PTSS by timing of evacuation adjusting for gender, age, education, various indicators of trauma exposure and pre-tsunami psychiatric diagnoses. Results: More than half of the survivors (53%) were content with evacuation time while 33% wanted later evacuation and 13% earlier evacuation. Compared with those evacuated 14–21 days post tsunami, individuals evacuated at day 1–4 presented with increased odds of PTSS (crude OR 3.0, 95% CI 2.0–4.5; and multivariable adjusted OR 2.0, 95% CI 1.3–3.0) and impaired mental health (crude OR 1.7, 95% CI 1.2–2.4; and multivariable adjusted OR 1.4 95% CI 1.0–2.0). Conclusions: One-third of Swedish tsunami survivors preferred a later evacuation from disaster sites. These findings call for further studies, with prospective designs, to disentangle the causal direction of the association between evacuation time and PTSS.
Adolescent self-rated health predicts general practice attendance in adulthood: Results from the Young-HUNT1 survey
Authors: Hetlevik Øystein , Vie Tina L. , Meland Eivind , Breidablik Hans J. , Jahanlu David
Published: April 2018

Aims: Self-rated health (SRH) is a predictor of future health. However, the association between SRH in adolescence and health problems and health care utilization in adulthood has rarely been investigated. The aim of this study was to examine adolescent SRH as a predictor of general practitioner consultations in adulthood. Methods: SRH was registered in the Young-HUNT1 survey in 1995–1997 ( N=8828, mean age 16 years, 88% participation rate). General practitioner consultations during 2006–2014 were obtained from a national claims database. The predictive value of adolescent SRH on general practitioner consultations in adulthood was analysed by regression models estimating the relative risks (RR) for the total number of consultations and consultations for psychological, gastrointestinal, musculoskeletal or respiratory problems. Age, sex and baseline measures of chronic disease and health care attendance were used as the adjusting variables. Results: SRH was reported as ‘very good’ by 28.4%, ‘good’ by 60.6% and ‘not good’ by 11.0% of the respondents. The increases in consultation rates were 21% (RR 1.21, 95% CI 1.15–1.27) and 52% (RR 1.52, 95% CI 1.40–1.64) when comparing respondents with ‘very good’ SRH to those with ‘good’ and ‘not good’ SRH, respectively. We also demonstrated a dose–response association between adolescent SRH and general practitioner consultations for psychological, gastrointestinal, musculoskeletal or respiratory problems. Conclusions: SRH in adolescence is a predictor for general practitioner consultations in adult life. Previous research shows that SRH is influenced by factors such as well-being, health behaviour, functional status and body satisfaction. Intervention studies are needed to evaluate whether population-based and clinical interventions can improve SRH by improving these factors among adolescents.
Commercialization in the Icelandic Press: An analysis of hard and soft news in major print and online media in Iceland in times of change
Authors: Jóhannsdóttir Valgerður
Published: April 2018

This article examines the commercialization of content in print and online newspapers in Iceland over the past decade in the context of international trends. Market forces are said to be guiding the values and priorities of editorial decisions in news media in Western countries more than ever before. Traditional revenue models have been shattered and competition for audiences and advertising has intensified, not least because of technological changes. Research indicates that media in some countries are more resistant to commercialization than others and that online newspapers may be more susceptible to market pressures than print media. This study explores the amount and prominence of hard and soft news in the main Icelandic newspapers and their online counterparts in 2005, 2009, and 2013. The findings suggest that commercialization increased considerably in online newspapers that published significantly more soft news in 2013 compared to 2005. In print newspapers, the increase in soft news coverage was significantly less during the same period.
Conceptualizing resource integration as an embedded process: Matching, resourcing and valuing
Authors: Caridà Angela , Edvardsson Bo , Colurcio Maria
Published: April 2018

The strong linkage between the creation of value and the actors’ resource-integrating efforts forces academics and practitioners to understand how value stems from resource integration (RI). This article analyses RI as an embedded process within the wider process of interactive value formation. The study is conceptual in nature and adopts a qualitative research approach and an empirical contextualization strategy. It provides a granular perspective on RI and proposes a framework that depicts RI as a process that shapes and results from a complex service context through a sequence of three phases: matching, resourcing and valuing. The article, particularly the suggested new framework, contributes to the extant literature on RI in service research; it reconceptualizes RI as process per se that is embedded in actors’ value co-creation efforts and offers the opportunity to reflect on this process as a fundamental enabler in value-creating service ecosystems.
Relationship Between Aerobic Capacity With Oxidative Stress and Inflammation Biomarkers in the Blood of Older Mexican Urban-Dwelling Population
Authors: Rosado-Pérez Juana , Mendoza-Núñez Víctor Manuel
Published: April 2018

The maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max) constitutes an indicator of an organism’s capacity to integrate oxygen into the metabolism to obtaining energy. The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between VO2max and oxidative stress (OxS) and chronic inflammation in the elderly individuals. A cross-sectional and exploratory study was conducted in a sample of 52 older persons. We measured plasma lipid peroxides (LPO), red blood cell glutathione peroxidase, red blood cell superoxide dismutase, and total antioxidant status. The interleukin 10 and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) were measured in serum by ELISA. The VO2max was determined by the Rockport aerobic test, and the energy expenditure (caloric expenditure and metabolic equivalence unit (MET) per day) was measured by a 3-day activity record. We observed a positive correlation between VO2 max with IL-10, MET/day•day-1 and kcal•day-1 (r = 0.31, P < .05, r = 0.44, P < .01, and r = 0.29, P < .05, respectively), and a negative correlation with the body mass index, TNF-α, and LPO (r = −0.27, P < .05, r = −0.29, P < .05, and r = −0.40, P < .01 respectively). Our findings suggest that there is an inverse relationship between the aerobic capacity and the OxS and chronic inflammation biomarkers in the blood in older Mexican adults.
Orthopaedic In-Training Examination Resources and Residency Training for the Foot and Ankle Domain
Authors: Janney Cory F. , Kunzler Daniel , Safavi Pejma Shazadeh , Panchbhavi Vinod
Published: April 2018

Background. Residency programs use the annual Orthopaedic In-Training Examination (OITE) prepared by the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) to monitor resident progress and prepare them for the part 1 of the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgeons (ABOS) Certifying Examination. The purpose of this study was to determine resources residents currently use to prepare for the OITE and also to learn about their perception of training they receive in the foot and ankle subspecialty in their program and their interest in foot and ankle fellowship after residency. Methods. An anonymous survey was sent to both allopathic programs and osteopathic residents to learn what resources residents used to study for the OITE, preparatory question sets, on-call resources, their perception on training received in foot and ankle surgery, and their intent to pursue fellowship training. Results. A total of 130 residents participated in the survey. The majority of residents in allopathic and osteopathic residencies used Orthobullets (OB) to prepare for the OITE and use this resource while on-call. Most residents also used OB question sets to study along with the AAOS self-assessment examinations. In total, 43.2% of osteopathic residents felt they did not get enough exposure to foot and ankle subspecialty while in training, in contrast to 31.2% of allopathic residents. A total of 35% of all orthopaedic surgery residents felt they lacked enough exposure to foot and ankle orthopaedic surgery. Only 7 residents (6%, 6 allopathic, 1 osteopathic) intended to pursue a foot and ankle fellowship following graduation. Conclusion. Online resources such as OB continue to be frequently used by residents for preparation for the OITE. Greater than one-third of orthopaedic residents feel they do not get enough exposure to foot and ankle orthopaedic surgery. Improvement in this area could be helped by continued endeavors from the American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society such as the Visiting Professor Program and Resident Scholarship Program.

Levels of Evidence: Level V: Single Cross-Sectional Study
Measuring pulmonary arterial compliance: mission impossible? Insights from a novel in vivo continuous‐flow based experimental model
Authors: Vanden Eynden Frédéric , Bové Thierry , Chirade Marie‐Luce , Van Nooten Guido , Segers Patrick
Published: April 2018

Arterial compliance (C) is related to the elasticity, size, and geometrical distribution of arteries. Compliance is a determinant of the load that impedes ventricular ejection. Measuring compliance is difficult, particularly in the pulmonary circulation in which resistive and compliant vessels overlap. Comparing different methods for quantification of compliance to a method that involves a continuous flow might help to identify the optimal method. Pulmonary arterial compliance was computed in six pigs based on the stroke volume to pulse pressure ratio, diastolic decay exponential fitting, area method, and the pulse pressure method (PPM). Compliance measurements were compared to those obtained under continuous flow conditions through a right ventricular bypass (Heartware Inc., Miami Lakes, FL, USA). Compliance was computed for various flows using diastolic decay exponential fitting after an abrupt interruption of the pump. Under the continuous flow conditions, resistance (R) was a decreasing function of the flow, and the fitting to P = e‐t/RC yielded a pulmonary time constant (RC) of 2.06 s ( ± 0.48). Compliance was an increasing function of flow. Steady flow inter‐method comparisons of compliance under pulsatile flow conditions showed large discrepancies and values (7.23 ± 4.47 mL/mmHg) which were lower than those obtained under continuous flow conditions (10.19 ± 1 0.31 mL/mmHg). Best agreement with steady flow measurements is obtained with the diastolic decay method. Resistance and compliance are both flow‐dependent and are inversely related in the pulmonary circulation. The dynamic nature of the pulsatile flow may induce a non‐uniformly distributed compliance, with an influence on the methods of measurement.
The use of RemoweLL oxygenator-integrated device in the prevention of the complications related to aortic valve surgery in the elderly patient: Preliminary results
Authors: Molardi Alberto , Di Chicco Maria V , Carino Davide , Goldoni Matteo , Ricci Matteo , Borrello Bruno , Gripshi Florida , Gherli Tiziano , Nicolini Francesco
Published: April 2018

Background

The effects of fat microembolization due to cardiopulmonary bypass are well known in cardiac surgery. Our aim is to evaluate the use of the RemoweLL device (Eurosets, Medolla, Italy) during elective aortic valve replacement in elderly patients (>70 years old) to rate its biochemical and clinical effects. The RemoweLL device is an oxygenator-integrated reservoir which combines two strategies for fat emboli and leucocytes removal: filtration and supernatant elimination.

Methods

Forty-four elderly patients were enrolled and assigned randomly to a Group A (standard device) and a Group B (RemoweLL). Biochemical effects were evaluated by blood samples, which were tested for white blood cells, neutrophils, protein SP-100 and interleukin 6 besides standard lab tests. Our clinical endpoints were any type of neurological, cardiac, respiratory, gastrointestinal or renal complications, and length of stay in the intensive care unit. Statistical analysis was carried out with chi square test for non-parametric data; t test and analysis of variance for repeated measures were used for parametric data.

Results

Group B showed lower levels of white blood cells, neutrophils, interleukin 6 and protein SP-100 immediately and 24 hours after the operation. Group B also showed a lower amount of neurocognitive type II dysfunction even if the length of stay in the ICU did not change.

Conclusions

The RemoweLL system is safe and effective in reducing inflammatory response to cardiopulmonary bypass and it could be a useful tool in minimizing negative effects of cardiopulmonary bypass; however, it does not seem to have any effect on elderly patients’ hospital stay.
Studies on sporadic non-syndromic thoracic aortic aneurysms: 1. Deregulation of Jagged/Notch 1 homeostasis and selection of synthetic/secretor phenotype smooth muscle cells
Authors: Chiarini Anna , Onorati Francesco , Marconi Maddalena , Pasquali Alessandra , Patuzzo Cristina , Malashicheva Anna , Irtyega Olga , Faggian Giuseppe , Pignatti Pier F , Trabetti Elisabetta , Armato Ubaldo , Dal Pra Ilaria
Published: April 2018

Background

Sporadic non-syndromic thoracic aortic aneurysms (SNSTAAs) are less well understood than familial non-syndromic or syndromic ones. The study aimed at defining the peculiar morphologic and molecular changes occurring in the media layer of SNSTAAs.

Design

This study was based on a single centre design.

Methods

Media layer samples taken from seven carefully selected SNSTAAs and seven reference patients (controls) were investigated via quantitative polymerase chain reaction, proteomics-bioinformatics, immunoblotting, quantitative histology, and immunohistochemistry/immunofluorescence.

Results

In SNSTAAs media, aortic smooth muscle cells numbers were halved due to an apoptotic process coupled with a negligible cell proliferation. Cystathionine γ-lyase was diffusely up-regulated. Surviving aortic smooth muscle cells exhibited diverging phenotypes: in inner- and outer-media contractile cells prevailed, having higher contents of smooth-muscle-α-actin holoprotein (45-kDa) and of caspase-3-cleaved smooth-muscle-α-actin 25-kDa fragments; in mid-media, aortic smooth muscle cells exhibited a synthetic/secretor phenotype, down-regulating vimentin, but up-regulating glial fibrillary acidic protein, trans-Golgi network 46 protein, Jagged1 (172-kDa) holoprotein, and Jagged1’s receptor Notch1. Extracellular soluble Jagged1 (42-kDa) fragments accumulated.

Conclusions

In SNSTAAs, there is a relentless aortic smooth muscle cells attrition caused by the up-regulated cystathionine γ-lyase. In mid-media, synthetic/secretor aortic smooth muscle cells intensify Jagged1/NOTCH1 signalling in the attempt to counterbalance the weakened aortic wall, due to aortic smooth muscle cells net loss and mechanical stress. Synthetic/secretor aortic smooth muscle cells are apoptosis-prone, and the accruing thrombin-cleaved Jagged1 fragments counteract the otherwise useful effects of Jagged1/NOTCH1 signalling, thus hampering tissue homeostasis/remodelling, and aortic smooth muscle cells adhesion, differentiation, and migration.
Telling digital stories as feminist research and practice: A 2-day workshop with migrant women in London
Authors: Vacchelli Elena , Peyrefitte Magali
Published: April 2018

In this article, we look at Digital Storytelling (DS) as a specifically feminist epistemology within qualitative social research methods. Digital Storytelling is a process allowing research participants to tell their stories in their own words through a guided creative workshop that includes the use of digital technology, participatory approaches, and co-production of personal stories. The article draws on a 2-day Digital Storytelling workshop with migrant women which was set up to understand the life stories and work trajectories of volunteers working in the women’s community and voluntary sector in London. By outlining this innovative approach, the article highlights its potential and makes a case for Digital Storytelling as a feminist approach to research while taking into account epistemological, practical, and ethical considerations.
Radiographic and Clinical Outcomes From the Use of S2 Alar Screws in Surgery for Adult Spinal Deformity
Authors: Nakazawa Toshiyuki , Inoue Gen , Imura Takayuki , Miyagi Masayuki , Saito Wataru , Shirasawa Eiki , Uchida Kentaro , Takahira Naonobu , Takaso Masashi
Published: April 2018

Study Design:

Retrospective.

Objectives:

To evaluate the efficacy of S2 alar screws in surgery for correction of adult spinal deformity (ASD).

Methods:

We retrospectively reviewed the cases of 23 patients (mean follow-up: 18.5 months, minimum 12 months) who underwent corrective surgery for ASD using S2 alar screws as anchors for instrumentation of lower vertebrae. The background of the patients and their spinopelvic parameters (pelvic incidence [PI], pelvic tilt [PT], lumbar lordosis [LL], thoracic kyphosis [TK], sagittal vertical axis [SVA], and PI-LL) were evaluated.

Results:

LL was improved from 9.7 ± 20.5° and SVA from 141.0 ± 64.0 mm before surgery to 39.0 ± 9.6° and 51.7 ± 40.8 mm immediately after surgery, respectively, and 38.2 ± 12.7° and 70.5 ± 59.2 mm at final follow-up. In 13 patients without sufficient correction (postoperative PI-LL ≥10°), bone mineral density and postoperative LL were significantly less, and PI, PI-LL, and PT were significantly greater than in patients with postoperative PI-LL <10°, suggesting that these are risk factors for undercorrection. In 5 patients, SVA increased more than 40 mm during follow-up. Postoperative LL was significantly less (31.4° vs 41.0°) and postoperative PI-LL was significantly greater (21.6° vs 9.3°) in these patients, suggesting a PI-LL mismatch induces postoperative progression of global malalignment.

Conclusions:

Use of S2 alar screws as anchors for instrumentation in ASD surgery should be restricted. Their use might be an option for patients with low PI, and without severe osteoporosis, in whom efficient surgical correction can be obtained.
Avoidable Emergency Department Utilization Within 6 Months Following Elective Thoracolumbar Spine Surgery for Degenerative Pathologies
Authors: Flood Meghan V. , Manson Neil A. , Green Alana J. , Abraham Edward P. , Bigney Erin
Published: April 2018

Study Design:

Retrospective study.

Objective:

To identify prevalence of, reasons for, and predictors of emergency department (ED) utilization 6 months following elective thoracolumbar spine surgery.

Methods:

A retrospective review of a patient database was conducted (N = 577). Visits were divided by orthopedic spinal surgeons into (1) avoidable ED visit, (2) appropriate/no visit, and (3) unrelated visit.

Measures:

Demographics, pain scores, patient characteristics, and surgical factors.

Results:

A total of 14.38% of patients made an ED visit the majority for avoidable reasons (11.43%). Avoidable ED visits were predominately attributed to pain (45.5%) and physiology-related issues (50.0%). Significant differences in the Numerical Rating Scale–leg pain (NRS-L); U = 13 931, P = .031) were found. Patients with avoidable visits had higher leg pain prior to surgery than those without an avoidable visit. Marital status was also statistically significant, χ2(2, N = 535) = 8.189, P = .017. Patients were more likely to make an avoidable postoperative ED visit if they were either single or divorced/separated compared to patients who were married. A multivariate logistic regression model including NRS-L and marital status was statistically significant, χ2(3) = 10.14, P = .017; however only explained 3.7% of the variance.

Conclusion:

A large percentage of elective thoracolumbar surgery patients returned to the ED within 6 months for avoidable reasons. Patients likely to make avoidable visits could not be identified prior to surgery in a clinically meaningful way. Reasons for patients returning to the ED for avoidable reasons focused on pain management and minor physiological symptoms. Enhanced presurgical education may manage postsurgical expectations helping to prevent avoidable ED visits.
Age-Related Performance on Vowel Identification and the Spectral-temporally Modulated Ripple Test in Children With Normal Hearing and With Cochlear Implants
Authors: DiNino Mishaela , Arenberg Julie G.
Published: April 2018

Children’s performance on psychoacoustic tasks improves with age, but inadequate auditory input may delay this maturation. Cochlear implant (CI) users receive a degraded auditory signal with reduced frequency resolution compared with normal, acoustic hearing; thus, immature auditory abilities may contribute to the variation among pediatric CI users’ speech recognition scores. This study investigated relationships between age-related variables, spectral resolution, and vowel identification scores in prelingually deafened, early-implanted children with CIs compared with normal hearing (NH) children. All participants performed vowel identification and the Spectral-temporally Modulated Ripple Test (SMRT). Vowel stimuli for NH children were vocoded to simulate the reduced spectral resolution of CI hearing. Age positively predicted NH children’s vocoded vowel identification scores, but time with the CI was a stronger predictor of vowel recognition and SMRT performance of children with CIs. For both groups, SMRT thresholds were related to vowel identification performance, analogous to previous findings in adults. Sequential information analysis of vowel feature perception indicated greater transmission of duration-related information compared with formant features in both groups of children. In addition, the amount of F2 information transmitted predicted SMRT thresholds in children with NH and with CIs. Comparisons between the two CIs of bilaterally implanted children revealed disparate task performance levels and information transmission values within the same child. These findings indicate that adequate auditory experience contributes to auditory perceptual abilities of pediatric CI users. Further, factors related to individual CIs may be more relevant to psychoacoustic task performance than are the overall capabilities of the child.
Childhood Plaque Psoriasis: Case Report of Successful Treatment with Ustekinumab and Review of Systemic Therapies
Authors: Heinecke Gillian , Lebwohl Mark
Published: April 2018

Pediatric onset of psoriasis occurs in up to one third of psoriasis patients. Although the majority of pediatric patients with plaque psoriasis have mild disease that can be controlled with topical therapy alone, more severe cases can require systemic therapy. Although no clinical trials of ustekinumab have been performed in a pediatric population, its success in treating moderate to severe psoriasis in adults led us to use this drug in a child who had previously experienced treatment failure with etanercept and adalimumab.
Mycophenolate Mofetil in the Treatment of Psoriasis
Authors: Leung Christy , Anvekar Rina
Published: April 2018

Psoriasis is a chronic immune-mediated disorder which, though not life-threatening, has a great impact on the quality of life. There are multiple therapeutic options available for the treatment of psoriasis based on the severity and percentage of body surface area involved which include topicals, systemic agents, and phototherapy. It is not uncommon for patients to become resistant to therapies and treatment failures can be frustrating for the physician as well as the patient. Mycophenolate mofetil, an antimetabolite and immunosuppressant, has been found to be effective and safe for treating moderate-to-severe psoriasis in several studies. It is a good alternative for patients who fail traditional systemic treatments or who have a contraindication for their use.
Foundation News
Authors: Ford Linda
Published: April 2018

The opportunity to apply knowledge from class exercises during field-based learning experiences plays an essential role in the professional development of an applied geophysicist. Kastens et al. (2009) note that field courses help students develop professional vision and the ability to see features that are important to the work of a professional geoscientist. Field courses also give students actual practice in turning the data and raw material of their observations into words, symbols, and signs that communicate to others. Industry recruiters and leaders have noted that graduates who have had experience in the field are more work ready than their peers who have not ( Kastens et al., 2009 ).
Overpressure estimation and productivity analysis for a Marcellus Shale gas reservoir, southwest Pennsylvania: A case study
Authors: Karthikeyan G. , Kumar Ashutosh , Shrivastava Akhil , Srivastava Mukul
Published: April 2018

It is well established that geology, geomechanics, and completion play an important role in gas productivity from shale formations. In particular, overpressured shale — along with higher fracture intensity — generally correlates with higher production rates. Conventional pore-pressure prediction techniques do not work well for black shale formations, primarily because a basin has often experienced multiple episodes of tectonic activity and subsequent overpressure generation; secondly, because the recorded petrophysical logs for pore-pressure estimation are significantly affected by the presence of organic content and gas. Overpressure mechanisms and distribution are studied for the Middle Devonian Marcellus Shale Formation of the Appalachian Basin in Pennsylvania to understand their relationship with well productivity. A sonic velocity-density crossplot does not reveal a clear picture of overpressure generation, primarily due to complex geologic history and distinct compositional variation between Marcellus Shale and overburden shale. 1D pore pressure was estimated from sonic velocity using traditional methods with pressure reference trend for the Marcellus Shale interval in the drilled wells and calibrated to the available in situ pressure measurements. 3D pore pressure was then estimated with upscaled 1D pore-pressure profiles and 3D seismic velocity data. Results suggest that the area having higher overpressure of about 160 psi produces about 55% more gas than the lower overpressure area. Further, understanding the spatial variation of overpressure in the study area may facilitate better field development planning.
A forum on infrastructure: Unique challenges for infrastructure in the central United States from low-level seismicity
Authors: Butler Dwain K. , Jaiswal Priyank , Whitesell Laurie
Published: April 2018

The state of infrastructure in the United States has been discussed recently in the news, by federal and state executives and legislatures, by governmental agencies and academia, and in scientific and engineering literature (e.g., American Society of Civil Engineers, 2017 ; Petroski, 2017 ). Generally the focus is on the deteriorating condition of aging infrastructure across the country: roads, railroads, bridges, dams, levees, oil and gas pipelines and storage facilities, and the power grid. An emerging general threat is extreme weather events, commonly attributed to climate change, which exacerbate the challenges to aging infrastructure. Many of the deteriorating infrastructure issues require innovative engineering and geoscience approaches, and all of the issues require a dedicated, long-term federal and state government and industry commitment to restoration, renewal, and design for resiliency.
Beef, Fish, and Chestnut Cake: Food for Heroes in the Late Imperial Chinese Novel
Authors: Liang Yan
Published: April 2018

This article explores the functions that food, as a narrative trope, has played in the characterization and storytelling of three prominent martial arts novels in late imperial China: Shuihu zhuan 水滸傳 (Water Margin), Sanxia wuyi 三俠五義 (Three Gallant Men and Five Loyal Brothers), and Ernü yingxiong zhuan 兒女英雄傳 (A Tale of Lovers and Heroes). The detailed and individualized descriptions of the heroes' eating and drinking add depth and complexity to the characters and justify plot development. Meanwhile, the narrative functions of the food descriptions in these three novels elucidate the distinct challenges for the martial arts novel in character portrayal and narrative focus.
A generalized model for communicating individuality through teleost swim bladder modulation
Authors: Matthews Cameron A. , Beaujean Pierre-Philippe J.
Published: April 2018

Arguments have been made for and against the traditional swim bladder model as a primary component of fish vocalization. This paper presents arguments for decoupled forced and resonant responses being extractable features within a variable air volume. As such, a mechanical analog is used to show how envelope modulation may be used by some species to identify air volume and consequently size in conspecifics. These arguments consider how an arbitrary fish may apply a genetic strategy of forcing vocalization through slow, fast, or both slow and fast sonic musculature while amplitude modulating via swim bladder. The classic resonant bubble model is revised to account for a hypothetical carrier signal resonance associated with static or varying volume. In the absence of live specimens, a test is conducted in different cylindrical structures with equally sized air volumes. First, a proposed method for extraction of swim bladder volume features through blind amplitude demodulated signals in the time and frequency domain is applied. Second, a proposed method for extraction of swim bladder volume features through cyclostationary analysis of the cross-spectral coherent spectra of the modulated and demodulated signal is applied. Both methods take average frequency content as derived by the prescribed signal processing techniques as the input to the correlator functions used to identify air volumes. Vocalizations of Epinephelus guttatus, or more commonly the red hind grouper are used as test signals.
Tolerance to paternal genotoxic damage promotes survival during embryo development in zebrafish (Danio rerio)
Authors: Fernández-Díez Cristina , González-Rojo Silvia , Lombó Marta , Herráez M. Paz
Published: April 2018

Spermatozoa carry DNA damage that must be repaired by the oocyte machinery upon fertilization. Different strategies could be adopted by different vertebrates to face the paternal genotoxic damage. Mammals have strong sperm selection mechanisms and activate a zygotic DNA damage response (DDR) (including cell cycle arrest, DNA repair and alternative apoptosis) in order to guarantee the genomic conformity of the reduced progeny. However, external fertilizers, with different reproductive strategies, seem to proceed distinctively. Previous results from our group showed a downregulation of apoptotic activity in trout embryos with a defective DNA repairing ability, suggesting that mechanisms of tolerance to damaged DNA could be activated in fish to maintain cell survival and to progress with development. In this work, zebrafish embryos were obtained from control or UV-irradiated sperm (carrying more than 10% of fragmented DNA but still preserving fertilization ability). DNA repair (γH2AX and 53BP1 foci), apoptotic activity, expression of genes related to DDR and malformation rates were analyzed throughout development. Results showed in the progeny from damaged sperm, an enhanced repairing activity at the mid-blastula transition stage that returned to its basal level at later stages, rendering at hatching a very high rate of multimalformed larvae. The study of transcriptional and post-translational activity of tp53 (ZDF-GENE-990415-270) revealed the activation of an intense DDR in those progenies. However, the downstream pro-apoptotic factor noxa (ZDF-GENE-070119-3) showed a significant downregulation, whereas the anti-apoptotic gene bcl2 (ZDF-GENE-051015-1) was upregulated, triggering a repressive apoptotic scenario in spite of a clear genomic instability. This repression can be explained by the observed upregulation of p53 isoform Δ113p53, which is known to enhance bcl2 transcription. Our results showed that tp53 is involved in DNA damage tolerance (DDT) pathways, allowing the embryo survival regardless of the paternal DNA damage. DDT could be an evolutionary mechanism in fish: tolerance to unrepaired sperm DNA could introduce new mutations, some of them potentially advantageous to face a changing environment.
Histone deacetylases 1 and 2 regulate the transcriptional programs of nephron progenitors and renal vesicles
Authors: Liu Hongbing , Chen Shaowei , Yao Xiao , Li Yuwen , Chen Chao-Hui , Liu Jiao , Saifudeen Zubaida , El-Dahr Samir S.
Published: April 2018

Nephron progenitor cells (NPCs) are Six2-positive metanephric mesenchyme cells, which undergo self-renewal and differentiation to give rise to nephrons until the end of nephrogenesis. Histone deacetylases (HDACs) are a group of epigenetic regulators that control cell fate, but their role in balancing NPC renewal and differentiation is unknown. Here, we report that NPC-specific deletion of Hdac1 and Hdac2 genes in mice results in early postnatal lethality owing to renal hypodysplasia and loss of NPCs. HDAC1/2 interact with the NPC renewal regulators Six2, Osr1 and Sall1, and are co-bound along with Six2 on the Six2 enhancer. Although the mutant NPCs differentiate into renal vesicles (RVs), Hdac1/2 mutant kidneys lack nascent nephrons or mature glomeruli, a phenocopy of Lhx1 mutants. Transcriptional profiling and network analysis identified disrupted expression of Lhx1 and its downstream genes, Dll1 and Hnf1a/4a, as key mediators of the renal phenotype. Finally, although HDAC1/2-deficient NPCs and RVs overexpress hyperacetylated p53, Trp53 deletion failed to rescue the renal dysgenesis. We conclude that the epigenetic regulators HDAC1 and HDAC2 control nephrogenesis via interactions with the transcriptional programs of nephron progenitors and renal vesicles.
X-ray computed tomography study of the flight-adapted tracheal system in the blowflyCalliphora vicinaanalysing the ventilation mechanism and flow-directing valves
Authors: Wasserthal Lutz Thilo , Cloetens Peter , Fink Rainer H. , Wasserthal Lennard Knut
Published: April 2018

After the discovery of the flight-motor driven unidirectional gas exchange with rising PO2 in the blowfly, X-ray computer tomography (CT) was used to visualize the organization of the tracheal system in the anterior body with emphasis on the arrangement of the pathways for the airflows. The fly's head is preferentially supplied by cephalic tracheae originating from the ventral orifice of the mesothoracic spiracle (Sp1). The respiratory airflow during flight is a by-product of cyclic deformations of the thoracic box by the flight muscles. The air sacs below the tergal integument (scutum and scutellum) facilitate the respiratory airflow: The shortening of the thorax turns the scutellum and the wings downward and the scutum upward with a volume increase in the scutal air sacs. The resulting negative pressure sucks air from Sp1 through special tracheae towards the scutal air sacs. The airflow is directed by two valves that open alternately: (1) The hinged filter flaps of the metathoracic spiracles (Sp2) are passively pushed open during the upstroke by the increased tracheal pressure, thereby enabling expiration. (2) A newly described tracheal valve-like septum behind the regular spiracular valve lids of Sp1 opens passively and air is sucked in through Sp1 during the downstroke and prevents expiration by closing during the upstroke. This stabilizes the unidirectional airflow. The tracheal volume of the head, thorax and abdomen and their mass were determined. Despite the different anatomy in birds and flies the unidirectional airflow reveals a comparable efficiency of the temporal throughput in flies and hummingbirds.
Αμερικανικός ηγεμονισμός και ανάδυση νέων περιφερειακών δυνάμεων: Ανακατατάξεις στο σύγχρονο διεθνές σύστημα;
Authors: Ευαγόρου Ευαγόρας Λ
Published: April 2018

Η ανάδυση περιφερειακών δυνάμεων, που επιδιώκουν να ανταγωνιστούν την ηγεμονία των ΗΠΑ σε περιφερειακό επίπεδο, είναι το κρισιμότερο χαρακτηριστικό του διεθνούς συστήματος σήμερα. Ο ανταγωνισμός για επιπρόσθετη ισχύ μεταξύ μεγάλων δυνάμεων δύναται να μεταβάλει τον μεταξύ τους συσχετισμό ισχύος. Βάσει μιας συστημικής θεωρίας των διεθνών σχέσεων, αυτήν του δομικού ρεαλισμού, που έχει επίκεντρό της το διακρατικό ανταγωνισμό με όρους ισχύος, εξετάζεται ο βαθμός των διεθνολογικών αναπροσαρμογών σε κρίσιμες γεωγραφικές περιοχές του πλανήτη, όπως η νοτιοανατολική Ασία και η ευρωπαϊκή ήπειρος. Ακόμη, εξετάζεται ο ρόλος της ομάδας κρατών BRICS ως επίδοξων ανταγωνιστών των ΗΠΑ.
Το φαινόμενο «Trump»: Οι αμερικανικές ρίζες του δεξιού λαϊκισμού και η ευρωπαϊκή εμπειρία
Authors: Τσιράς Στάθης
Published: April 2018

Το παρόν άρθρο επιδιώκει να οριοθετήσει τη σχέση που ενδέχεται να έχει ο Πρόεδρος Donald Trump με την ευρωπαϊκή εμπειρία δεξιών λαϊκιστών, όπως ο Jean-Marie Le Pen και ο Jörg Haider παλαιότερα και ο Nigel Farage και η Marine Le Pen σήμερα. Καταγράφει τους αντικρουόμενους ορισμούς που προτείνονται σχετικά με την έννοια του λαϊκισμού και εξετάζει τον τρόπο με τον όποιο ο Ρεπουμπλικάνος Προεδρικός Υποψήφιος Donald Trump κέρδισε τις πρόσφατες αμερικανικές εκλογές της 8ης Νοεμβρίου 2016 χρησιμοποιώντας συγκεκριμένα ρητορικά σχήματα, αλλά και πως αυτός παρουσιάστηκε από τα Μέσα Μαζικής Ενημέρωσης και τους διάφορους αναλυτές. Τέλος, γίνεται αναφορά στα πεπραγμένα του πρώτου χρόνου της διακυβέρνησής του σε αντιπαραβολή με την προεκλογική ρητορική του.
Diverse pro-inflammatory endotoxin recognition systems of mammalian innate immunity
Authors: Weiss Jerrold , Barker Jason
Published: April 2018

In humans and other mammals, recognition of endotoxins—abundant surface lipopolysaccharides (LPS) of Gram-negative bacteria—provides a potent stimulus for induction of inflammation and mobilization of host defenses. The structurally unique lipid A region of LPS is the principal determinant of this pro-inflammatory activity. This region of LPS is normally buried within the bacterial outer membrane and aggregates of purified LPS, making even more remarkable its picomolar potency and the ability of discrete variations in lipid A structure to markedly alter the pro-inflammatory activity of LPS. Two recognition systems—MD-2/TLR4 and “LPS-sensing” cytosolic caspases—together confer LPS responsiveness at the host cell surface, within endosomes, and at sites physically accessible to the cytosol. Understanding how the lipid A of LPS is delivered and recognized at these diverse sites is crucial to understanding how the magnitude and character of the inflammatory responses are regulated.
The convergent epidemiology of tuberculosis and human cytomegalovirus infection
Authors: Cobelens Frank , Nagelkerke Nico , Fletcher Helen
Published: April 2018

Although several factors are known to increase the risk of tuberculosis, the occurrence of tuberculosis disease in an infected individual is difficult to predict. We hypothesize that active human cytomegalovirus infection due to recent infection, reinfection or reactivation plays an epidemiologically relevant role in the aetiology of tuberculosis by precipitating the progression from latent tuberculosis infection to disease. The most compelling support for this hypothesis comes from the striking similarity in age-sex distribution between the two infections, important because the age-sex pattern of tuberculosis disease progression has not been convincingly explained. Cytomegalovirus infection and tuberculosis have other overlapping risk factors, including poor socio-economic status, solid organ transplantation and, possibly, sexual contact and whole blood transfusion. Although each of these overlaps could be explained by shared underlying risk factors, none of the epidemiological observations refute the hypothesis. If this interaction would play an epidemiologically important role, important opportunities would arise for novel approaches to controlling tuberculosis.
Case Report: My lung broke my heart! Takotsubo cardiomyopathy due to pneumonia
Authors: Ahmed Navid , Gandhi Himali , Sims Daniel B.
Published: April 2018

Takotsubo cardiomyopathy (TTC), also known as stress-induced cardiomyopathy, is a cardiac syndrome that often mimics acute myocardial infarction. TTC is commonly triggered by physical or emotional stress; however, acute infection is a rarer etiology. This report concerns the case of an 82-year-old female who presented with non-positional and non-pleuritic chest pain, with an associated fever and cough and chest x-ray findings consistent with pneumonia. Cardiac enzymes and ECG findings were consistent with acute coronary syndrome (ACS); however, during coronary angiography, no coronary artery disease could explain the patient’s ACS. A post-catheterization echocardiogram revealed an ejection fraction of 25%, with apical akinesis. A repeat echocardiogram 4 weeks after presentation showed a normal EF and normal wall motion, confirming a diagnosis of TTC.