bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Spinal Accessory Nerve Monitoring and Clinical Outcome Results of Nerve‐Sparing Neck Dissections
Authors: Birinci Yucel , Genc Arzu , Ecevit Mustafa Cenk , Erdag Taner Kemal , Guneri Enis Alpin , Oztura Ibrahim , Evlice Ahmet , Ikiz Ahmet Omer
Published: April 2014

Objective

To investigate the role of intraoperative spinal accessory nerve monitoring in predicting postoperative shoulder function in spinal accessory nerve‐sparing neck dissections.

Study Design

Prospective, double‐blind clinical trial.

Setting

Academic, tertiary care center.

Subjects and Methods

This study was performed on 20 neck sites of 17 consecutive patients who had neck dissections sparing the spinal accessory nerve. Threshold increment ≥0.25 mA and amplitude decrement ≥72% were classified as significant intraoperative neuromonitoring changes while lesser differences were classified as insignificant intraoperative neuromonitoring changes. All patients had intraoperative neuromonitoring recordings when the spinal accessory nerve was first identified and at the end of surgery. Postoperative shoulder function was evaluated neurophysiologically with electromyography and clinically with Constant‐Murley Score; daily activity restrictions were evaluated with Activity Restriction Scale.

Results

Clinical assessment of shoulder functions at postoperative first and second months showed statistically significant deteriorations when compared with preoperative values (P <. 05). The shoulder function deterioration was statistically significantly less for patients with insignificant intraoperative neuromonitoring changes than patients with significant intraoperative neuromonitoring changes (P <. 05). Daily activity restriction deteriorations were present in both groups at first postoperative month (P <. 05). While they persisted in the group with significant intraoperative neuromonitoring changes during the second postoperative month (P <. 05), there was continuing recovery in the insignificant intraoperative neuromonitoring change group and statistical significance disappeared (P >. 05).

Conclusion

Our results support the predictive value of spinal accessory nerve intraoperative neuromonitoring for determining shoulder function deterioration and activity restriction scores.
Caregiver Quality of Life Is Related to Severity of Otitis Media in Children
Authors: Blank Sarah J. , Grindler David J. , Schulz Kristine A. , Witsell David L. , Lieu Judith E. C.
Published: April 2014

Objective

Otitis media (OM) in children is the most frequent reason for physician visits in developed countries and burdens caregivers, society, and the child. Our objective was to describe the impact of OM severity on parent/caregiver quality of life (QoL).

Study Design

Multi‐institutional prospective cross‐sectional study.

Setting

Otolaryngology, family, and pediatric practices.

Subjects and Methods

Children 6 to 24 months old with and without a primary diagnosis of recurrent OM and their caregivers. Physicians provided patient history, and parents/caregivers completed a Family Information Form, the PedsQL Family Impact survey, the Patient Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) survey, and the OM 6‐item severity survey (OM‐6).

Results

A total of 2413 subjects were enrolled and data from 1208 patients and physician were analyzed. The average child age was 16 months, and 54% were male. The mean OM‐6 score was 3.2. The mean PedsQL Family Impact score for parents was 66.9 from otolaryngology sites and 78.8 from pediatrics/family practice sites (P <. 001). Higher (worse) OM‐6 scores correlated significantly with worse PedsQL Family Impact scores (Pearson r = −0.512, P <. 01). Similarly, increasing OM‐6 scores strongly correlated with increased parental anxiety, depression, and fatigue, as well as decreased satisfaction (all P <. 01).

Conclusions

Worse PedsQL Family Impact and PROMIS scores were highly correlated with elevated OM‐6 scores, suggesting that severity of childhood OM significantly affects parent/caregiver QoL. Understanding the impact of a child's illness on parent/caregiver QoL can help physicians counsel patients and families and provide better family‐centered, compassionate care.
Pattern of Failure in Surgically Treated Patients with Cervical Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma
Authors: Cao Cai‐Neng , Liu Shao‐Yan , Luo Jing‐Wei , Gao Li , Xu Guo‐Zhen , Xu Zhen‐Gang , Tang Ping‐Zhang
Published: April 2014

Objective

The aim of this study was to analyze the pattern of failure in patients who have undergone surgical resection for cervical esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.

Study Design

Case series with chart review.

Setting

University hospital.

Subjects and Methods

Sixty‐two patients who had undergone surgical resection of cervical esophageal squamous cell carcinoma from January 2001 through April 2012. Sites of failure were documented.

Results

Twenty‐nine patients had developed treatment failure. Of the 29 patients, 14, 13, and 14 had developed local failure, regional failure, and distant metastasis, respectively. Of the 13 regional failures, the images of 2 patients were lost. The other 11 regional failures included left lateral nodal disease at level II (n = 2), level III (n = 4), and level IV (n = 7); right lateral nodal disease at level II (n = 2), level III (n = 3), and level IV (n = 3); and level VI (n = 4). The overall 2‐year local failure–free survival rate and regional failure–free survival rates were 79.6% and 58.6% (P =. 04) for patients with stage II disease and 79.6% and 59.6% (P =. 054) for patients with stage III disease, respectively.

Conclusions

The pattern of failure of cervical esophageal squamous cell carcinoma is characterized by early locoregional failure, especially in patients with stage III disease.
Cochrane Corner: Amplification with Hearing Aids for Patients with Tinnitus and Co‐existing Hearing Loss
Authors: Schilder Anne G. M. , Burton Martin J. , Eby Thomas L. , Rosenfeld Richard M.
Published: April 2014

The “Cochrane Corner” is a section in the journal that highlights systematic reviews relevant to otolaryngology–head and neck surgery, with invited commentary to aid clinical decision making. This installment features a Cochrane review, “Amplification with Hearing Aids for Patients with Tinnitus and Co‐existing Hearing Loss,” which identified only 1 randomized controlled trial and concluded that current evidence for use of hearing aids is limited.
Factors Predicting Rotator Cuff Retears
Authors: Le Brian T.N. , Wu Xiao L. , Lam Patrick H. , Murrell George A.C.
Published: April 2014

Background:

The rate of retears after rotator cuff repair varies from 11% to 94%. A retear is associated with poorer subjective and objective clinical outcomes than intact repair.

Purpose:

This study was designed to determine which preoperative and/or intraoperative factors held the greatest association with retears after arthroscopic rotator cuff repair.

Study Design:

Cohort study; Level of evidence, 3.

Methods:

This study retrospectively evaluated 1000 consecutive patients who had undergone a primary rotator cuff repair by a single surgeon using an arthroscopic inverted-mattress knotless technique and who had undergone an ultrasound evaluation 6 months after surgery to assess repair integrity. Exclusion criteria included previous rotator cuff repair on the same shoulder, incomplete repair, and repair using a synthetic polytetrafluoroethylene patch. All patients had completed the modified L’Insalata Questionnaire and underwent a clinical examination before surgery. Measurements of tear size, tear thickness, associated shoulder injury, tissue quality, and tendon mobility were recorded intraoperatively.

Results:

The overall retear rate at 6 months after surgery was 17%. Retears occurred in 27% of full-thickness tears and 5% of partial-thickness tears ( P < .0001). The best independent predictors of retears were anteroposterior tear length (correlation coefficient r = 0.41, P < .0001), tear size area ( r = 0.40, P < .0001), mediolateral tear length ( r = 0.34, P < .0001), tear thickness ( r = 0.29, P < .0001), age at surgery ( r = 0.27, P < .0001), and operative time ( r = 0.18, P < .0001). These factors produced a predictive model for retears: logit P = (0.039 × age at surgery in years) + (0.027 × tear thickness in %) + (1 × anteroposterior tear length in cm) + (0.76 × mediolateral tear length in cm) – (0.17 × tear size area in cm2) + (0.018 × operative time in minutes) –9.7. Logit P can be transformed into P, which is the chance of retears at 6 months after surgery.

Conclusion:

A rotator cuff retear is a multifactorial process with no single preoperative or intraoperative factor being overwhelmingly predictive of it. Nevertheless, rotator cuff tear size (tear dimensions, tear size area, and tear thickness) showed stronger associations with retears at 6 months after surgery than did measures of tissue quality and concomitant shoulder injuries.
Bony Landmarks of the Anterior Cruciate Ligament Tibial Footprint
Authors: Tensho Keiji , Shimodaira Hiroki , Aoki Tetsuhiro , Narita Nobuyo , Kato Hiroyuki , Kakegawa Akira , Fukushima Nanae , Moriizumi Tetsuji , Fujii Masahiro , Fujinaga Yasunari , Saito Naoto
Published: April 2014

Background:

Although the importance of tibial tunnel position for achieving stability after anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction was recently recognized, there are fewer detailed reports of the anatomy of the tibial topographic footprint compared with the femoral side.

Hypothesis:

The ACL tibial footprint has a relationship to bony prominences and surrounding bony landmarks.

Study Design:

Descriptive laboratory study.

Methods:

This study consisted of 2 anatomic procedures for the identification of bony prominences that correspond to the ACL tibial footprint and 3 surrounding landmarks: the anterior ridge, lateral groove, and intertubercular fossa. In the first procedure, after computed tomography (CT) was performed on 12 paired, embalmed cadaveric knees, 12 knees were visually observed, while their contralateral knees were histologically observed. Comparisons were made between macroscopic and microscopic findings and 3-dimensional (3D) CT images of these bony landmarks. In the second procedure, the shape of the bony prominence and incidence of their bony landmarks were evaluated from the preoperative CT data of 60 knee joints.

Results:

In the first procedure, we were able to confirm a bony prominence and all 3 surrounding landmarks by CT in all cases. Visual evaluation confirmed a small bony eminence at the anterior boundary of the ACL. The lateral groove was not confirmed macroscopically. The ACL was not attached to the lateral intercondylar tubercle, ACL tibial ridge, and intertubercular space at the posterior boundary. Histological evaluation confirmed that the anterior ridge and lateral groove were positioned at the anterior and lateral boundaries, respectively. There was no ligament tissue on the intercondylar space corresponding to the intercondylar fossa. In the second investigation, the bony prominence showed 2 morphological patterns: an oval type (58.3%) and a triangular type (41.6%). The 3 bony landmarks, including the anterior ridge, lateral groove, and intertubercular fossa, existed in 96.6%, 100.0%, and 96.6% of the cases, respectively.

Conclusion:

There is a bony prominence corresponding to the ACL footprint and bony landmarks on the anterior, posterior, and lateral boundaries.

Clinical Relevance:

The study results may help create an accurate and reproducible tunnel, which is essential for successful ACL reconstruction surgery.
Incorporating RTI in a Hybrid Model of Reading Disability
Authors: Spencer Mercedes , Wagner Richard K. , Schatschneider Christopher , Quinn Jamie M. , Lopez Danielle , Petscher Yaacov
Published: April 2014

The present study seeks to evaluate a hybrid model of identification that incorporates response to instruction and intervention (RTI) as one of the key symptoms of reading disability. The 1-year stability of alternative operational definitions of reading disability was examined in a large-scale sample of students who were followed longitudinally from first to second grade. The results confirmed previous findings of limited stability for single-criterion-based operational definitions of reading disability. However, substantially greater stability was obtained for a hybrid model of reading disability that incorporates RTI with other common symptoms of reading disability.
The Effect of a Donor Milk Policy on the Diet of Very Low Birth Weight Infants
Authors: Marinelli Kathleen A. , Lussier Mary M. , Brownell Elizabeth , Herson Victor C. , Hagadorn James I.
Published: April 2014

Background:

Use of donor milk (DM) to supplement mother’s own milk (MOM) in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) is steadily increasing based on health and developmental benefits to premature infants. A paucity of data exists documenting the effect of DM use on the diet of very low birth weight (VLBW) infants related to the implementation of a DM policy.

Objective:

This study aimed to compare VLBW enteral intake type in the first 28 days of life before versus after establishing a DM policy.

Methods:

This single-center pre–post prospective cohort study included all inborn infants ≤ 1500 grams in a level 4 NICU remaining hospitalized at 28 days and admitted either before (pre-DM period, October 2009–March 2010) or after (DM period, October 2010–September 2012) implementing a DM policy. The feeding protocol was unchanged in both periods. Collected data included maternal/infant demographics, infant clinical data, and daily volume of enteral intake as MOM, DM, and formula. The proportion of enteral feeds from these sources during the first 28 days of life was compared pre-DM versus DM.

Results:

Compared to pre-DM baseline, formula exposure was significantly decreased, and human milk exposure and proportion of diet as human milk increased. The proportion of infants fed exclusively human milk increased. Exposure to and proportion of diet as MOM was unchanged. Infants were fed earlier in the DM period.

Conclusion:

Establishment of a DM policy was associated with reduced exposure to formula, promoting an exclusively human milk diet, with earlier initiation of feeds and no decrease in use of MOM.
The Dopamine D4 Receptor Gene (DRD4) Moderates Cultural Difference in Independent Versus Interdependent Social Orientation
Authors: Kitayama Shinobu , King Anthony , Yoon Carolyn , Tompson Steve , Huff Sarah , Liberzon Israel
Published: April 2014

Prior research suggests that cultural groups vary on an overarching dimension of independent versus interdependent social orientation, with European Americans being more independent, or less interdependent, than Asians. Drawing on recent evidence suggesting that the dopamine D4 receptor gene ( DRD4) plays a role in modulating cultural learning, we predicted that carriers of DRD4 polymorphisms linked to increased dopamine signaling (7- or 2-repeat alleles) would show higher levels of culturally dominant social orientations, compared with noncarriers. European Americans and Asian-born Asians (total N = 398) reported their social orientation on multiple scales. They were also genotyped for DRD4. As in earlier work, European Americans were more independent, and Asian-born Asians more interdependent. This cultural difference was significantly more pronounced for carriers of the 7- or 2-repeat alleles than for noncarriers. Indeed, no cultural difference was apparent among the noncarriers. Implications for potential coevolution of genes and culture are discussed.
Justifying Atrocities
Authors: Coman Alin , Stone Charles B. , Castano Emanuele , Hirst William
Published: April 2014

A burgeoning literature has established that exposure to atrocities committed by in-group members triggers moral-disengagement strategies. There is little research, however, on how such moral disengagement affects the degree to which conversations shape people’s memories of the atrocities and subsequent justifications for those atrocities. We built on the finding that a speaker’s selective recounting of past events can result in retrieval-induced forgetting of related, unretrieved memories for both the speaker and the listener. In the present study, we investigated whether American participants listening to the selective remembering of atrocities committed by American soldiers (in-group condition) or Afghan soldiers (out-group condition) resulted in the retrieval-induced forgetting of unmentioned justifications. Consistent with a motivated-recall account, results showed that the way people’s memories are shaped by selective discussions of atrocities depends on group-membership status.
Don’t Believe What You Read (Only Once)
Authors: Schotter Elizabeth R. , Tran Randy , Rayner Keith
Published: April 2014

Recent Web apps have spurred excitement around the prospect of achieving speed reading by eliminating eye movements (i.e., with rapid serial visual presentation, or RSVP, in which words are presented briefly one at a time and sequentially). Our experiment using a novel trailing-mask paradigm contradicts these claims. Subjects read normally or while the display of text was manipulated such that each word was masked once the reader’s eyes moved past it. This manipulation created a scenario similar to RSVP: The reader could read each word only once; regressions (i.e., rereadings of words), which are a natural part of the reading process, were functionally eliminated. Crucially, the inability to regress affected comprehension negatively. Furthermore, this effect was not confined to ambiguous sentences. These data suggest that regressions contribute to the ability to understand what one has read and call into question the viability of speed-reading apps that eliminate eye movements (e.g., those that use RSVP).
Perilous Uncertainty
Authors: Hayes Constant Tara K. , Winkler Jennifer L. , Bishop Amie , Taboada Palomino Leyla G.
Published: April 2014

Breast cancer rates in Peru, as in other low- and middle-income countries, continue to rise, and survival rates are poor, in part because many women are diagnosed with late-stage disease. As part of a pilot project to improve breast cancer screening and diagnostic services in remote regions of Peru, the Program for Appropriate Technology in Health (PATH) partnered with Peruvian organizations to train community health workers in breast health promotion and providers in clinical breast exam (CBE). To inform these strategies, we undertook a qualitative study to determine factors that influence Peruvian women’s decisions to seek CBE. Anthropological approaches incorporating the PRECEDE/PROCEED public health model guided our conversations with providers and women living in the region of the pilot intervention. Grounded theory analysis helped us uncover a central theme of uncertainty, a state of doubt and insecurity that created a sense of impotent worry and impeded clinical health-seeking behaviors.
The Impact of Personal Metaphors and Memorable Interpersonal Communication on Body Satisfaction
Authors: Anderson Jenn , Bresnahan Mary J. , DeAngelis Briana N.
Published: April 2014

Memorable messages about body size can have profound negative psychological and emotional effects on body image and personal health. We found that both men and women recalled more negative than positive memorable messages about their body appearance and size. Participants who reported receiving negative memorable messages also revealed stronger current body dissatisfaction and poorer self-image than participants who reported positive memorable messages. Participants who received negative body comments also described their own body using negative metaphors. Negative memorable messages often occurred in front of third parties who expressed approval for the message, sometimes in the form of laughter. We discuss the mental health consequences of negative messages about body size and the implications for public health campaigns.
The Genetic Testing Experience of BRCA-Positive Women
Authors: Hesse-Biber Sharlene
Published: April 2014

Little is known about how the breast cancer (BRCA) gene mutation affects women’s decision-making processes. I use a feminist standpoint lens to explore the process by which BRCA-positive women came to socially construct and understand their risk for developing breast and/or ovarian cancer and the treatment options they elected post-testing. This study included in-depth interviews with 64 BRCA-positive mutation women, some of whom sought surveillance and others who opted for preventive surgical intervention. The in-depth analysis and case study approach revealed a complex cancer risk assessment resulting in a “nexus of decision making” that does not mirror a statistical medical model of risk assessment. The particular configuration of women’s nexus of decision making impacted their pre- and posttesting BRCA experience as empowering or disempowering, regardless of whether they elected surgery or surveillance. I discuss the implications for development of clinical strategies that will serve to enhance women’s pre- and post-BRCA decision making.
Living in a Post-Coding World
Authors: Augustine Sharon Murphy
Published: April 2014

This article explains how the author used Deleuze and Guattari’s concept assemblage to analyze data from an interview study about the reading practices of 10 academics. Instead of coding interview transcripts, the researcher used writing and reading as methods of inquiry and analysis to explore how reading can become a force that enables complex relationships with texts.
Suspended Animation
Authors: Clark/Keefe Kelly
Published: April 2014

What possibilities for thinking and expression lie suspended between what we say is a “something” or a “someone” and the forces, multiplicities, intensities, and uncanny relations that effect and constitute its naming—its sedimentation as such? How do we engage in analysis practices that help hold open identitarian thought’s press so that we might learn from the embodied register of previously un-thought forces and creative rhythms; the material-discursive passageways of a life becoming a life? In this essay, the author introduces somatographic analysis as a practice of deeply attuning and attending via poesis, or creativity, to material-discursive data and the subjective emergences they enact. Following a description of somatographic analyses’ practical features and aims, a Working-Class Academic Zombie as figuration gets assembled. This figuration functions as both an illustration of somatographic analysis practices irrupting in the fold of inquiry and an alternative material–theoretical tool marking the limits of classificatory systems for understanding first-generation college students and their paths to becoming women academics.
Terra Incognita
Authors: Daza Stephanie L. , Huckaby M. Francyne
Published: April 2014

In this article, the authors recuperate the mind–body connection lost in procedural and theoretical forms of qualitative analysis. They offer a glimpse into their em-bodied data analysis practice—movement, travel, and dreaming/meditation—as modes of analysis post-coding that respect the physical (body, movement, space, and time) and the metaphysical (dreams, mediation, creative acts) simultaneously. Daza describes her process as percolating, while Huckaby frames hers as trekking.
Evaluating Collaboration for Effectiveness
Authors: Marek Lydia I. , Brock Donna-Jean P. , Savla Jyoti
Published: April 2014

Although collaboration is recognized as an effective means to address multifaceted community issues, successful collaboration is difficult to achieve and failure is prevalent. To effectively collaborate, collaborators must recognize the strengths and weaknesses within their own efforts. Using Mattessich and colleagues’ work as a springboard, a seven-factor model of effective collaboration is presented along with an accompanying evaluation tool, the Collaboration Assessment Tool (CAT). Confirmatory factor analysis of the CAT validated the proposed model with all seven collaboration factors demonstrating strong internal consistency. Concurrent validity was established through expected positive intercorrelations between the factors as well as strong positive correlations with the perceived success of collaborative efforts. As evaluators are increasingly asked to evaluate collaborations and coalitions, this conceptual model and tool can provide evaluators with a grounded, reliable, and valid assessment instrument to work with clients to build collaborative efforts in an intentional, comprehensive, and effective manner.
Investigating the Usability of Classroom Management Strategies Among Elementary Schoolteachers
Authors: Briesch Amy M. , Briesch Jacquelyn M. , Chafouleas Sandra M.
Published: April 2014

Although teachers are often asked to implement classroom interventions to address student behavior, little is known about their perceived usability of many evidence-based strategies. One thousand five elementary schoolteachers completed the Usage Rating Profile–Intervention–Revised (URP-IR) with regard to the use of one of five evidence-based classroom management strategies described in a hypothetical vignette. Results suggested that participants understood implementation procedures and did not feel that they would require external support to carry out the procedures with integrity. However, group contingencies were rated as less acceptable and less compatible with school climate than other strategies, and acceptability ratings were found to be the lowest for dependent group contingencies. Implications of the role of teachers’ perceived usability in the adoption and implementation of evidence-based interventions in schools are discussed.
Effects of Adolescent Violent Victimization on Adult Depression
Authors: Kimmel Daniel M.
Published: April 2014

Many studies have associated adolescent violence exposure with later mental health outcomes, but because violence cannot be randomly assigned, few have established causality. Additionally, few have directly tested whether violence affects boys’ and girls’ psychological health differently. The author hypothesizes that (1) violence has a negative causal effect on depression and (2) the effects of violence on depression are worse for women than for men. Using National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health data, the author builds multilevel propensity score models with wave 1 predictors in a cross-lagged two-level hierarchical linear model estimating the effects of wave 2 violence on wave 3 outcomes. The results (1) confirm that women have higher depression scores than men net of other factors, (2) show that violence exposure raises average depression scores for both sexes, and (3) uncover no significant sex differences in effect size of violence on depression.
Experimental prestorage filtration removes antibodies and decreases lipids in RBC supernatants mitigating TRALI in vivo
Authors: Silliman Christopher C. , Kelher Marguerite R. , Khan Samina Y. , LaSarre Monica , West F. Bernadette , Land Kevin J. , Mish Barbara , Ceriano Linda , Sowemimo-Coker Samuel
Published: April 2014

Key Points

TRALI may be induced by antibodies to HLA or HNA antigens or lipids, which accumulate during storage. Prestorage experimental filtration of RBCs removes HLA and HNA antibodies, decreases lipid priming activity, and mitigates TRALI in an animal model.
SATB1 overexpression promotes malignant T-cell proliferation in cutaneous CD30+ lymphoproliferative disease by repressing p21
Authors: Wang Yang , Gu Xiaoguang , Zhang Gaolei , Wang Lin , Wang Tingting , Zhao Yun , Zhang Xiuyan , Zhou Youwen , Kadin Marshall , Tu Ping
Published: April 2014

Key Points

SATB1 is specifically overexpressed in the CD30+ lymphoma cells in cutaneous CD30+ lymphoproliferative disease. SATB1 promotes proliferation of CD30+ lymphoma cells by direct transcriptional repression of cell cycle inhibitor p21.
Evaluation of bendamustine in combination with fludarabine in primary chronic lymphocytic leukemia cells
Authors: El-Mabhouh Amal A. , Ayres Mary L. , Shpall Elizabeth J. , Baladandayuthapani Veerabhadran , Keating Michael J. , Wierda William G. , Gandhi Varsha
Published: April 2014

Key Points

The fludarabine and bendamustine combination is cytotoxic to CLL cells even in the presence of a protective microenvironment. H2AX activation was maximum with the combination, and unscheduled DNA synthesis induced by bendamustine was blocked by fludarabine.
Biochemical and functional characterization of Plasmodium falciparum GTP cyclohydrolase I
Authors: Kümpornsin Krittikorn , Kotanan Namfon , Chobson Pornpimol , Kochakarn Theerarat , Jirawatcharadech Piyaporn , Jaru-ampornpan Peera , Yuthavong Yongyuth , Chookajorn Thanat
Published: April 2014

Background

Antifolates are currently in clinical use for malaria preventive therapy and treatment. The drugs kill the parasites by targeting the enzymes in the de novo folate pathway. The use of antifolates has now been limited by the spread of drug-resistant mutations. GTP cyclohydrolase I (GCH1) is the first and the rate-limiting enzyme in the folate pathway. The amplification of the gch1 gene found in certain Plasmodium falciparum isolates can cause antifolate resistance and influence the course of antifolate resistance evolution. These findings showed the importance of P. falciparum GCH1 in drug resistance intervention. However, little is known about P. falciparum GCH1 in terms of kinetic parameters and functional assays, precluding the opportunity to obtain the key information on its catalytic reaction and to eventually develop this enzyme as a drug target.

Methods

Plasmodium falciparum GCH1 was cloned and expressed in bacteria. Enzymatic activity was determined by the measurement of fluorescent converted neopterin with assay validation by using mutant and GTP analogue. The genetic complementation study was performed in ∆folE bacteria to functionally identify the residues and domains of P. falciparum GCH1 required for its enzymatic activity. Plasmodial GCH1 sequences were aligned and structurally modeled to reveal conserved catalytic residues.

Results

Kinetic parameters and optimal conditions for enzymatic reactions were determined by the fluorescence-based assay. The inhibitor test against P. falciparum GCH1 is now possible as indicated by the inhibitory effect by 8-oxo-GTP. Genetic complementation was proven to be a convenient method to study the function of P. falciparum GCH1. A series of domain truncations revealed that the conserved core domain of GCH1 is responsible for its enzymatic activity. Homology modelling fits P. falciparum GCH1 into the classic Tunnelling-fold structure with well-conserved catalytic residues at the active site.

Conclusions

Functional assays for P. falciparum GCH1 based on enzymatic activity and genetic complementation were successfully developed. The assays in combination with a homology model characterized the enzymatic activity of P. falciparum GCH1 and the importance of its key amino acid residues. The potential to use the assay for inhibitor screening was validated by 8-oxo-GTP, a known GTP analogue inhibitor.
Leukemoid reaction in sarcomatoid renal cell carcinoma: a two-case report
Authors: Huang Weiping , Wang Feng , Li Yeping , Duan Feifei , Yu Zhixian
Published: April 2014

Leukemoid reaction is defined as reactive leukocytosis exceeding 40 × 109/l, with a significant increase in early neutrophil precursors, and can be a paraneoplastic manifestation of various malignant tumors. Leukemoid reaction is a sign for poor prognosis in solid tumors so is sarcomatoid renal cell carcinoma (SRCC) when compared to more differentiated histologies. Here, we are reporting two cases of leukemoid reaction after radical nephrectomy, both of which were diagnosed as SRCC pathologically. The operations were successful: no complications were observed and the patients were discharged in good condition. However, a few weeks later, the white blood cell (WBC) count gradually increased. Even though routine management was done immediately, the count was still elevating. A diagnosis of a leukemoid reaction was established and both of them died shortly thereafter. Due to the poor prognosis of most patients with malignant leukemoid reaction, leukemoid reaction may be a predictor of prognosis in patients with SRCC, but more data are needed.
Smoking at time of diagnosis and breast cancer-specific survival: new findings and systematic review with meta-analysis
Authors: Bérubé Sylvie , Lemieux Julie , Moore Lynne , Maunsell Elizabeth , Brisson Jacques
Published: April 2014

Introduction

In women with breast cancer who smoke, it is unclear whether smoking could impair their survival from the disease.

Methods

We examined the relation of smoking at diagnosis to breast cancer-specific and overall survival among 5,892 women with invasive breast cancer treated in one Canadian center (1987 to 2008). Women were classified as never, former or current smokers. Current smokers were further classified according to total, intensity and duration of smoking. Deaths were identified through linkage to population mortality data. Cox proportional-hazards multivariate models were used. A systematic review with meta-analysis combines new findings with published results.

Results

Compared with never smokers, current smokers at diagnosis had a slightly, but not statistically significant, higher breast cancer-specific mortality (hazard ratio = 1.15, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.97 to 1.37). Among current smokers, breast cancer-specific mortality increased with total exposure to, intensity and duration of smoking (all Ptrend <0.05). Compared to never smokers, breast cancer-specific mortality was 32 to 56% higher among heavy smokers (more than 30 pack years of smoking, more than 20 cigarettes per day or more than 30 years of smoking). Smoking at diagnosis was associated with an increased all-cause mortality rate. A meta-analysis of all studies showed a statistically significant, 33% increased mortality from breast cancer in women with breast cancer who are smokers at diagnosis compared to never smokers (hazard ratio = 1.33, 95% CI: 1.12 to 1.58).

Conclusions

Available evidence to date indicates that smoking at diagnosis is associated with a reduction of both overall and breast cancer-specific survival. Studies of the effect of smoking cessation after diagnosis on breast cancer-specific outcomes are needed.
Immobilization of a Lipase on Mesocellular Foam of Silica for Biocatalysis in Low-water-containing Organic Solvents
Authors: Kannan Kayambu , Mukherjee Joyeeta , Gupta Munishwar N
Published: April 2014

Unfunctionalized mesocellular foam of silica was used for immobilization of the lipase from Thermomyces lanuginosus. In the first approach, lipase was adsorbed onto polyethyleneimine-coated Fe3O4 nanoparticles, and these particles in turn were bound to the foam interior to obtain the immobilized preparation [(PEI–Fe3O4)–TLL]–MCF. In the second method, PEI-coated Fe3O4 nanoparticles were bound to the foam, and the lipase was bound to the composite to obtain [MCF–(PEI–Fe3O4)]–TLL as the immobilized preparation. The second preparation was found to be better in terms of surface area (397 m2 g−1), pore diameter (112 Å), and total pore volume (2.5 cm3 g−1). This preparation also performed better for synthesis of hexyl butyrate and biodiesel.
Synthesis and Structure of an η2-Silanimine-coordinated Half-sandwich-type Titanium Complex
Authors: Okazaki Masaaki , Ebina Shoya
Published: April 2014

The reaction of [Cp*TiCl3] (Cp*: η5-C5Me5) with LiNtBu(SiMe2H) gave [Cp*Ti{NtBu(SiMe2H)}Cl2] (1), in which weak η2-SiH coordination to the titanium center was confirmed by NMR and X-ray diffraction analyses. Further treatment of 1 with MeLi in the presence of PMe3 afforded the silanimine-coordinated complex [Cp*Ti(η2-Me2SiNtBu)Cl(PMe3)] (2).
High fashion in film: Italian identity and global anxiety in Valentino: The Last Emperor and Gomorrah
Authors: Tulante Meriel
Published: April 2014

The intersection between the Italian high-fashion industry and its relationship to national identity is explored in two 2008 films, Valentino: The Last Emperor (Tyrnauer, 2008) and Gomorrah (Garrone, 2008). The decline of high fashion problematizes Italy’s projection on a global stage of a national identity closely linked to its ‘Made in Italy’ brands and superiority in design. Both films conceptualize fashion as a salient cultural institution that is at the apex of pressing social, political and economic issues facing Italy as the country re-evaluates its construction of national identity. By visually exploiting the tension between the perfect exterior presentation of the fashion industry and the less appealing underlying realities, the directors challenge cinematically the boundaries between fiction and reality in identity construction at both national and global levels. The films showcase the performative creation of national symbols and in both the illusory quality of narratives of national identity emerges in the directors’ generically divergent yet topically convergent emphasis on the fiction of the constructed image.
From the state to the regions: The devolution of Italian cinema
Authors: Cucco Marco
Published: April 2014

Italian cinema has often been a battle-ground between national government and local administrations. Since 1975 many laws have been passed in order to find a compromise between centralized control of filmic activities and a collective management that involving the State and local institutions. Despite the controversy, in the past two decades local administrations have become aware of the economic benefits from supporting film productions. Therefore they have been implementing film-friendly measures (film commissions, film funds, film incentives and tax revenues). At the same time the Ministero per i Beni e le Attività Culturali/Ministry for Cultural Heritage and Activities is reconsidering its mission by moving from financing films to becoming a promoter, financier and regulator of the Italian cinema industry as a whole. This article analyses how in the past 35 years the Italian state and regions have negotiated their powers regarding cinematographic activities. It also examines the development of film commissions and film funds introduced by local administrations for supporting film production. The final part of the article suggests that financing and regulation of film production in Italy is experiencing a decentralization process.
Transformations of fascist imperialism: Greece from Le soldatesse (1965) to Mediterraneo (1991)
Authors: Cragin Thomas
Published: April 2014

The article demonstrates the power of sociopolitical and cultural contexts that dictated the interpretations of fascist imperialism in the two most important films dealing with the wartime occupation of Greece. Analysis of both films is positioned in relation to the history of the wartime occupation, when Italian soldiers were moved by racist assumptions, rejected Greek culture and willingly perpetrated crimes against the Greek people. From war’s end to the early 1960s, official memory of brutal fascist imperialism had been obscured by a powerful myth that the Italian people had been good anti-fascists and sympathetic victims during World War II. But events of the early 1960s created a political crisis that demanded re-evaluation of the power and dangers posed by Italian fascism. The article explores the means by which Valerio Zurlini’s 1965 Le soldatesse/The Camp Followers attempted to awaken national memory of imperial exploitation and inspire in audiences both a powerful collective guilt and consciousness of the urgent necessity to combat neo-fascism. The article also exposes the influence of the sexual revolution on this film’s depiction of consensual heterosexual sex as the primary mechanism for peaceful Italo–Greek relations. It was this sensual approach to empire and not the anti-neo-fascist political mission that tied The Camp Followers to Gabriele Salvatores’ 1991 Mediterraneo. Inspired by the new political apathy and consumer culture of the 1980s and early 1990s, Mediterraneo created an imaginary fascist empire devoid of racism and the ideological commitments that divided Italian from Greek. The new film created the possibility of an Italian imperialism defined by leisure, an alteration of history that could only seem reasonable in a world redefined by sensual consumerism. The stark differences between these two films’ depictions of Italians in the fascist empire reflects a larger transformation of Italian national identity.
Migrant stardom and racial masquerade: Fabrizio Gatti’s multimedia undercover journalism
Authors: Purpura Marco
Published: April 2014

In this article I discuss journalist Fabrizio Gatti’s undercover reporting across a variety of multimedia narratives about undocumented immigration, including news articles, illustrated reportages, literary travelogues and digital documentaries. Over the arc of his career Gatti has moved from an aesthetic of camouflage to one of the sceneggiata, which has allowed him to create a migrant stardom revolving around his racialized aliases, the Bilal character in particular. Camouflage is a strategy of racial passing that emerged in Gatti’s early articles for the Corriere della Sera/The Evening Paper. In these articles the subject goes unnoticed and dissolves into the environment that the journalist intends to explore. When Gatti moved to the weekly l’Espresso/The Express in the mid-2000s, his earlier strategies were replaced by exaggerated stagings of his impersonations, that is, by strategies of racial posing. Among his reportages for l’Espresso, the journalist’s undercover work as the Kurdish Bilal in Lampedusa has become so popular that it has marked the birth of a migrant star, Gatti as Bilal, who parodies celebrity culture while criticizing the process of identity building in Italian media. With his travelogue Bilal, his strategies reached such levels of theatricality that the use of sceneggiata, which Gatti himself employs in the travelogue, to examine it becomes invaluable. In the last part of the article, I analyse Gatti’s documentary Sulla via di Agadez/On the Route to Agadez (2009), available through l’Espresso website, and discuss the way it combines the sceneggiata with the sobriety of documentary journalism.
Narratives of change, images for change: Contemporary social documentaries in Italy
Authors: Ardizzoni Michela
Published: April 2014

This article focuses on contemporary documentaries about social change in Italy. In particular, I examine the Rome-based ZaLab initiative, an association of media professionals and activists whose video work aims at narrating the stories of marginal social actors. This analysis reflects on the role of ZaLab in current visions of migration in/to Italy, focusing specifically on three documentaries produced by ZaLab: Come un uomo sulla terra/Like a Man on Earth (Segre and Yimer, 2008), Il sangue verde/Green Blood (Segre, 2010) and Mare chiuso/Closed Sea (Liberti and Segre, 2012). Based on a careful film analysis and a series of conversations with the directors, Andrea Segre and Stefano Liberti, I discuss the composition and film-making strategies in these documentaries and assess the significance of such choices in the context of Italian documentary production. The analysis of the documentaries is followed by an investigation of the horizontal practices of communication (both in the production and distribution stages) embraced by ZaLab and their innovative approach to the changes in Italian contemporary communities. Clearly, the notion of citizenship presented in these videos defies the flattening, pejorative images found in mainstream programming and acknowledges the central role played by those social actors who are often silenced or marginalized in the audience-seeking productions of television channels.
Book Reviews
Authors: Benci Jacopo , Peretti Luca , Heim Julia , Ferrari Chiara , O’Rawe Catherine , Orton Marie , Welle John P. , Laviosa Flavia , Hennessey Brendan
Published: April 2014

Michelangelo Red Antonioni Blue. Eight Reflections on Cinema, Murray Pomerance (2011) Berkeley: University of California Press, 300 pp., ISBN: 9780520258709, h/bk, $65, ISBN: 9780520266865, p/bk, $29.95

Pavese e il cinema. Primo e ultimo amore, Franco Prono (2011) Acireale: Bonanno, 117 pp., ISBN: 978-8-87796-844-9, p/bk, €10

Italian TV Drama & Beyond, Milly Buonanno (2012) Bristol, UK: Intellect, 264 pp., ISBN: 978-1-84150-459-9, p/bk, $30

Terrorism, Italian Style. Representations of Political Violence in Contemporary Italian Cinema, Glynn Ruth, Giancarlo Lombardi and Alan O’Leary (2012) London : IGRS books, ISBN: 978-0-85457-228-1, p/bk, £25

Italian Neorealist Cinema, Torunn Haaland (2012) Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, xii–235 pp., ISBN: 0748636110, h/bk, $105/£65

Equivocal Subjects: Between Italy and Africa: Constructions of Racial and National Identity in the Italian Cinema, Shelleen Greene (2012) London: Continuum International Publishing Group, 328 pp., ISBN: 978-1-4411-9043-7, h/bk, $120

The Great Black Spider on its Knock-Kneed Tripod: Reflections of Cinema in Early Twentieth-Century Italy, Michael Syrimis (2012) Toronto: Toronto University Press, Xiv–357 pp., ISBN: 978-1-4426-4401-4, h/bk, $85

Ciak, si Puglia. Cinema di frontiera 1989–2012, Oscar Iarussi (2012) Bari: Laterza Edizioni della Libreria, v–xx, 3–92 pp., ISBN 978-8-84204-986-9, p/bk, €9

Incontri cinematografici e culturali tra due mondi, Antonio Vitti (ed.) (2012) Pesaro: Metauro Edizioni, 670 pp., ISBN 978-88-6156-091-8, p/bk €25
Event Reviews
Authors: Casella Paola , Bianchi Tina , Gavrila Mihaela , Walker Johnny , Nerenberg Ellen , Zamboni Camilla
Published: April 2014

Sisters in Cinema: Generations of Italian female filmmakers in dialogue Report of the roundtable, Cinema Farnese Persol, Campo de’ Fiori, Rome, 12 June 2013

CRC Coproduction Meetings, Salon des Ambassadeurs, Palais des Festivals, Cannes – 29th Edition, 21 May 2013

Osservatorio GEMMA – Gender and Media Matter and Magistri Sine Registro Program on Cultural, Gender and Media Processes

Spaghetti Cinema: Incorporating Spaghetti Westerns in Transit: AN International Film Conference on Transculturation and Liminality, Luton Library Theatre, University of Bedfordshire, 11–13 April 2013

Cineroma: an International Summer Seminar on the Cinema and the City, Rome, 11–28 June 2012
Journals of Italian Cinema
Authors: Lanzo Gemma , Ruggiero Christian
Published: April 2014

Moviement

Comunicazionepuntodoc: Communication between research and profession
Professionals’ Corner
Authors: Griseri Carlo , Anselmi Stefano
Published: April 2014

The many forms of writing for cinema

Alice and the Other women
Il braccio violento della legge: Revelation, conspiracy and the politics of violence in the poliziottesco
Authors: Fisher Austin
Published: April 2014

This article analyses a strand of the Italian police thriller (poliziottesco) whose plots invest heavily in notions of official cover-up and high-level coup d’état conspiracy, in the cultural, political and historical coordinates of the ‘anni di piombo’/‘years of lead’. Prevailing scholarly discourses on the cinema of and about this era tend to identify a desire to seek explanation for the violent traumas and to see through the opaque webs of intrigue that characterize the national memory of the 1970s. By taking La polizia ringrazia/Execution Squad (Steno, 1972), Milano trema – la polizia vuole giustizia/Violent Professionals (Martino, 1973) and La polizia accusa: il servizio segreto uccide/Silent Action (Martino, 1975) as key examples, this article seeks to demonstrate that such films in fact occupy a divergent register of political address: one that seeks, not to explain or ‘make sense’ of the era’s intrigues, but instead to enact a ritual recognition of innate suspicion, pervasive corruption and assumed distrust. These films are appraised for their immediacy rather than their coherence, as documents of confusion rather than of investigative rigour. They thus enable a reading of ‘political cinema’ as being one that chronicles the range of political registers through which events were being represented to sections of the Italian public.