bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Annotated list of Ensifera (Orthoptera) and further records on Caelifera (Orthoptera) of Mt Kilimanjaro, Tanzania
Authors: HEMP CLAUDIA
Published: February 2013

A list of the Tettigoniidae and Gryllacrididae (Orthoptera: Ensifera) of Mt Kilimanjaro is presented. A total number of 63 Ensifera was recorded for this mountain, of which 25 species belonged to Phaneropterinae, 18 to Conocephalinae, 6 to Hetrodinae and three to Pseudophyllinae. The subfamily Meconematinae contributed two species while only one species of the subfamilies Hexacentrinae, Mecopodinae and Saginae was found. Gryllacrididae contributed six species. Three spe-cies recorded in literature were not found again during the research period. 15 species are newly recorded for Mt Kiliman-jaro in this study and one species of Agraeciini newly described. Two new genera, Afroanthracites Hemp & Ingrisch n. gen. (type species: Anthracites montium Sjöstedt, 1910) and Afroagraecia Ingrisch & Hemp n. gen. (type species: Agrae-cia sansibara Redtenbacher, 1891), are erected on African Agraeciini (Conocephalinae). Anthracites kilimandjaricus Sjöstedt, 1910 is snonymized with A. montium Sjöstedt, 1910. Agraecia sansibara (Redtenbacher, 1891), Anthracites bloyeti Brongniart, 1897 and Anelytra panteli Karny are transferred to Afroagraecia. Aethiomerus stenorhinus Saussure, 1899 is synonymised with Afroagraecia sansibara (Redtenbacher, 1891). In Caelifera two Catantopinae (Acrididae) spe-cies are newly recorded for Mt Kilimanjaro and one pyrgomorphid species, Maura lurida (Fabricius, 1781), recovered again for the area.
New genus and new species of Chauliodinae (Insecta: Megaloptera: Corydalidae) from Brazil
Authors: CARDOSO-COSTA GIL , DE AZEVÊDO CARLOS AUGUSTO SILVA , FERREIRA NELSON JR.
Published: February 2013

A new genus and new species of Chauliodinae are described and illustrated, Puri gen. nov. and P. aleca sp. nov. The ma-terial was collected in the Mantiqueira Mountain Range,ItamonteMunicipality,State of Minas Gerais,Brazil. This is the first report of adults of this subfamily fromBrazil. In the male, the new genus is diagnosed by the short subserrate anten-nae, length less than ½ of forewing; wings alternating dark and pale venation; forewings with crossvein between 1A and 2A placed between footstalks of 1A and 2A; hindwings with basal r-m crossvein connected to M by an additional short branch; dorsally, ninth tergum anteriorly truncate; laterally, ventral margin acutely produced; ninth sternum with membra-nous apical process; laterally tenth tergum with proximal margin vertical; tenth gonocoxite with bifurcation indistinct; lateral lobes connected by a broad and feebly sclerotized plate. The female is unknown.
Errratum: Weihai Li, Guoquan Wang, Wenliang Li & Dávid Murányi (2012) Review of Neoperla (Plecoptera: Perlidae) from Guangdong Province of China. Zootaxa, 3597, 15–24.
Authors: LI WEIHAI , WANG GUOQUAN , LI WENLIANG , MURÁNYI DÁVID
Published: February 2013

(Erratum)
Olfactory Bulb Volume Changes in Patients with Sinonasal Polyposis: A Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study
Authors: Herzallah Islam R. , Askar Sherif M. , Amer Hazem S. , Ahmed Ayman F. , El‐Anwar Mohammad W. , Eesa Mohamed H.
Published: February 2013

Objectives

The olfactory bulb (OB) is thought to be a plastic structure with highly active afferent neurons. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of olfactory deprivation caused by sinonasal polyps on OB volume.

Study Design

Cross‐sectional study.

Setting

Tertiary university hospital, Department of Otolaryngology.

Subjects and Methods

Twenty‐two subjects were included: 11 adult patients with bilateral allergic sinonasal polyposis (patient group) and 11 adult healthy controls (control group). Both study groups were matched for age and sex. OB volumes in all study subjects were evaluated in T2‐weighted coronal MRI images by planimetric manual contouring.

Results

In the patient group, OB volume measurements ranged from 5.2 to 19.5 mm3 (mean ± SD, 10.14 ± 3.8). In the control group, volume measurements ranged from 35 to 75.8 mm3 (mean ± SD, 47.66 ± 10.75). The difference in OB volumes between patient and control groups was statistically significant (P <. 001).

Conclusion

Our study highlights the significant reduction in OB volume in patients with bilateral sinonasal polyposis as compared with its volume in healthy controls. Further studies are required to evaluate the impact of OB volume reduction on olfactory recovery postoperatively.
Cosmopolitanized Nations: Re-imagining Collectivity in World Risk Society
Authors: Beck Ulrich , Levy Daniel
Published: February 2013

The concept of the national is often perceived, both in public and academic discourse as the central obstacle for the realization of cosmopolitan orientations. Consequently, debates about the nation tend to revolve around its persistence or its demise. We depart from this either-or perspective by investigating the formation of the ‘cosmopolitan nation’ as a facet of world risk society. Modern collectivities are increasingly preoccupied with debating, preventing and managing risks. However, unlike earlier manifestations of risk characterized by daring actions or predictability models, global risks can no longer be calculated or forecast. Accordingly, more influence accrues to the perception of risk, largely constructed by media representations. Cosmopolitanized risk collectivities are engendered through the anticipation of endangered futures which are, for the most part, communicated through an increasingly global media scape. While global media events produce shared exposure, risk conceptions retain distinctive political-cultural features as their respective meanings are prefigured by path-dependent pasts. Nevertheless, the promulgation of risk societies, we argue, results in a reimagination of nationhood which takes place in the context of: global norms (e.g. human rights); globalized markets; transnational migrations; global generations and their embeddedness in civil society movements; and the local interpenetration of world religions to name but a few of the global backdrops shaping new associational intersections. We develop our argument in four interrelated steps. Contrary to essentialized notions of nationalism or universal versions of cosmopolitanism, we address the cosmopolitan reconfiguration of nationhood by differentiating between presumptions of thick belonging and the actual proliferation of cosmopolitan affiliations. In a second step we overcome the territorial fixation of the social sciences by shifting our attention to temporal dimensions, with a particular focus on competing conceptions of the future. In a third step we demonstrate how these cosmopolitan transformations of nationhood are taking place in the context of a world risk society regime that marshals a set of cosmopolitan imperatives situating the global other in our midst. In a fourth step we illustrate these developments by exploring how the mediatization of risk, and concomitant notions of the future, contribute to the reimagination of cosmopolitan risk collectivities.
Personal Objective for 2013? Not to Have SMART Objectives
Authors: Brown Duncan
Published: February 2013

At the time of year when many people are having their appraisal meetings, Duncan Brown questions whether the SMART approach to objective setting is really smart and relevant in today’s climate. He proposes a more democratic and engaging approach to agreeing a focus for future work.
Rethinking Existing HR Technologies for New Gains in Employee Engagement and Benefits
Authors: Custers Michael
Published: February 2013

The economic recession has affected businesses and employees around the world. As pay rates continue to remain stagnant, many companies are looking for ways to provide greater total compensation through non-momentary benefits, such as flexible work schedules, trainings and additional vacation days. However, identifying opportunities to provide better benefits does not have to be a complex process. By rethinking how an organization leverages their existing HR technologies, HR executives can uncover opportunities to provide more robust total compensation
Public Pension Underfunding in California
Authors: Kilgour John G.
Published: February 2013

As is widely known, public sector pension plans and state and local governments throughout the country are in trouble. Things are about to get worse. The Governmental Accounting Standards Board has adopted new accounting and reporting rules that will make underfunded plans of governments appear to be much more underfunded than under the current rules. The changes involve discount rates, amortization periods, asset valuation and a requirement that local governments that are party to cost-sharing multiple-employer plans report their proportionate share of the plan’s unfunded liability in their financial statements. In a parallel development, Moody’s Investor Services (one of the major credit rating agencies) is about to launch similar changes. The combined effect will be to add significantly to the debt of many local governments and likely force them into Chapter 9 bankruptcy. California is on the cutting edge of this development, with three sizable cities already in Chapter 9. This article will focus on California; however, the developments discussed apply to public pension plans and local governments nationwide.
Building the Business Case for Investing in Employees
Authors: Smith Michelle M.
Published: February 2013

There are significant challenges ahead for compensation and benefits professionals this year, but those challenges also provide a wealth of opportunities for the profession and for our organizations. We need to consider taking a broader approach to total compensation—one that eclipses traditional ideas about pay and benefits—to build a fully integrated strategy that leverages total rewards, uses recognition and incentive programs for building and improving engagement and ensures that all facets of compensation are optimized to motivate our workforce and help our companies thrive. This is a deep dive into creating that integrated strategy by outlining the challenges we are facing, addressing how to align compensation and benefits with talent management and building the business case for the merits of investing in employees by measuring the long-term value of human capital assets. This article is intended to help us achieve our objectives and review some innovative tools and trends that can accelerate progress.
Midconvexity for finite sets
Authors: Tabor Jacek , Tabor Józef , Misztal Krzysztof
Published: February 2013

Let X be a finite subset of a real vector space. We study Jensen-type convexity on subsets of X. In particular for subsets of X, we introduce the definition of X-midconvex sets. We show that such a notion corresponds well to the classical notion of a convex set. Moreover, we prove that a function X-midconvex set is a midconvex hull of all its extremal points. Other analogues of some classical results are also given. At the end we present an algorithmic approach to finding the midconvex hull of a given set.

MSC:26A51, 26B25.
The effect of Psoroptes ovis infestation on ovine epidermal barrier function
Authors: Stoeckli Miriam R , McNeilly Tom N , Frew David , Marr Edward J , Nisbet Alasdair J , van den Broek Adri HM , Burgess Stewart TG
Published: February 2013

Sheep scab is an intensively pruritic, exudative and allergic dermatitis of sheep caused by the ectoparasitic mitePsoroptes ovis. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effect ofP. ovisinfestation on different components of the ovine epidermal barrier within the first 24 hours post-infestation (hpi). To achieve this, the expression of epidermal differentiation complex (EDC) genes and epidermal barrier proteins, the nature and severity of epidermal pathology and transepidermal water loss (TEWL) were evaluated.

By 1 hpi a significant dermal polymorphonuclear infiltrate and a significant increase in TEWL with maximal mean TEWL (598.67 g/m2h) were observed. Epidermal pathology involving intra-epidermal pustulation, loss of epidermal architecture and damage to the basement membrane was seen by 3 hpi. Filaggrin and loricrin protein levels in the stratum corneum declined significantly in the first 24 hpi and qPCR validation confirmed the decrease in expression of the key EDC genesinvolucrin,filaggrinandloricrinobserved by microarray analysis, with 5.8-fold, 4.5-fold and 80-fold decreases, respectively by 24 hpi.

The present study has demonstrated that earlyP. ovisinfestation disrupts the ovine epidermal barrier causing significant alterations in the expression of critical barrier components, epidermal pathology, and TEWL. Many of these features have also been documented in human and canine atopic dermatitis suggesting that sheep scab may provide a model for the elucidation of events occurring in the early phases of atopic sensitisation.
A survey of protein interaction data and multigenic inherited disorders
Authors: Mora Antonio , Michalickova Katerina , Donaldson Ian M
Published: February 2013

Background

Multigenic diseases are often associated with protein complexes or interactions involved in the same pathway. We wanted to estimate to what extent this is true given a consolidated protein interaction data set. The study stresses data integration and data representation issues.

Results

We constructed 497 multigenic disease groups from OMIM and tested for overlaps with interaction and pathway data. A total of 159 disease groups had significant overlaps with protein interaction data consolidated by iRefIndex. A further 68 disease overlaps were found only in the KEGG pathway database. No single database contained all significant overlaps thus stressing the importance of data integration. We also found that disease groups overlapped with all three interaction data types: n-ary, spoke-represented complexes and binary data - thus stressing the importance of considering each of these data types separately.

Conclusions

Almost half of our multigenic disease groups could potentially be explained by protein complexes and pathways. However, the fact that no database or data type was able to cover all disease groups suggests that no single database has systematically covered all disease groups for potential related complex and pathway data. This survey provides a basis for further curation efforts to confirm and search for overlaps between diseases and interaction data. The accompanying R script can be used to reproduce the work and track progress in this area as databases change. Disease group overlaps can be further explored using the iRefscape plugin for Cytoscape.
Newborn screening for citrin deficiency and carnitine uptake defect using second-tier molecular tests
Authors: Wang Li-Yun , Chen Nien-I , Chen Pin-Wen , Chiang Shu-Chuan , Hwu Wuh-Liang , Lee Ni-Chung , Chien Yin-Hsiu
Published: February 2013

Background

Tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) analysis is a powerful tool for newborn screening, and many rare inborn errors of metabolism are currently screened using MS/MS. However, the sensitivity of MS/MS screening for several inborn errors, including citrin deficiency (screened by citrulline level) and carnitine uptake defect (CUD, screened by free carnitine level), is not satisfactory. This study was conducted to determine whether a second-tier molecular test could improve the sensitivity of citrin deficiency and CUD detection without increasing the false-positive rate.

Methods

Three mutations in the SLC25A13 gene (for citrin deficiency) and one mutation in the SLC22A5 gene (for CUD) were analyzed in newborns who demonstrated an inconclusive primary screening result (with levels between the screening and diagnostic cutoffs).

Results

The results revealed that 314 of 46 699 newborns received a second-tier test for citrin deficiency, and two patients were identified; 206 of 30 237 newborns received a second-tier testing for CUD, and one patient was identified. No patients were identified using the diagnostic cutoffs. Although the incidences for citrin deficiency (1:23 350) and CUD (1:30 000) detected by screening are still lower than the incidences calculated from the mutation carrier rates, the second-tier molecular test increases the sensitivity of newborn screening for citrin deficiency and CUD without increasing the false-positive rate.

Conclusions

Utilizing a molecular second-tier test for citrin deficiency and carnitine transporter deficiency is feasible.
Methyl jasmonate abolishes the migration, invasion and angiogenesis of gastric cancer cells through down-regulation of matrix metalloproteinase 14
Authors: Zheng Liduan , Li Dan , Xiang Xuan , Tong Ling , Qi Meng , Pu Jiarui , Huang Kai , Tong Qiangsong
Published: February 2013

Background

Recent evidence indicates that methyl jasmonate (MJ), a plant stress hormone, exhibits anti-cancer activity on human cancer cells. The aim of this study is to determine whether sub-cytotoxic MJ can abolish the migration, invasion and angiogenesis gastric cancer cells.

Methods

Human gastric cancer cell lines SGC-7901 and MKN-45 were treated with diverse concentrations of MJ. Cell viability, proliferation, migration, invasion and angiogenesis capabilities of cancer cells were measured by MTT colorimetry, EdU incorporation, scratch assay, matrigel invasion assay, and tube formation assay. Gene expression was detected by western blot and real-time quantitative RT-PCR. Binding of transcription factor on gene promoter was detected by chromatin immunoprecipitation.

Results

Sub-cytotoxic (0.05 to 0.2 mM) MJ attenuated the migration, invasion and angiogenesis, but not the cell viability or proliferation, of gastric cancer cells in a time- and dose-dependent manner, with down-regulation of matrix metalloproteinase 14 (MMP-14) and its downstream gene vascular endothelial growth factor. Restoration of MMP-14 expression rescued the SGC-7901 and MKN-45 cells from sub-cytotoxic MJ-inhibited migration, invasion and angiogenesis. In addition, sub-cytotoxic MJ decreased the specificity protein 1 (Sp1) expression and binding on MMP-14 promoter, while restoration of Sp1 expression rescued the cancer cells from sub-cytotoxic MJ-mediated defects in MMP-14 expression, migration, invasion and angiogenesis.

Conclusions

Sub-cytotoxic MJ attenuates the MMP-14 expression via decreasing the Sp1 expression and binding on MMP-14 promoter, thus inhibiting the migration, invasion and angiogenesis of gastric cancer cells.
Lipoprotein metabolism in patients with type 1 diabetes under intensive insulin treatment
Authors: Feitosa Alina C R , Feitosa-Filho Gilson S , Freitas Fatima R , Wajchenberg Bernardo L , Maranhão Raul C
Published: February 2013

Background

Type 1 diabetes (T1DM) is frequently accompanied by dyslipidemia related with insulin-dependent steps of the intravascular lipoprotein metabolism. T1DM dyslipidemia may predispose to precocious cardiovascular disease and the lipid status in T1DM under intensive insulin treatment has not been sufficiently explored. The aim was to investigate the plasma lipids and the metabolism of LDL and HDL in insulin-treated T1DM patients with high glycemic levels.

Methods

Sixteen male patients with T1DM (26 ± 7 yrs) with glycated hemoglobin >7%, and 15 control subjects (28 ± 6 yrs) were injected with a lipid nanoemulsion (LDE) resembling LDL and labeled with 14C-cholesteryl ester and 3H-free-cholesterol for determination of fractional clearance rates (FCR, in h-1) and cholesterol esterification kinetics. Transfer of labeled lipids from LDE to HDL was assayed in vitro.

Results

LDL-cholesterol (83 ± 15 vs 100 ± 29 mg/dl, p=0.08) tended to be lower in T1DM than in controls; HDL-cholesterol and triglycerides were equal. LDE marker 14C-cholesteryl ester was removed faster from plasma in T1DM patients than in controls (FCR=0.059 ± 0.022 vs 0.039 ± 0.022h-1, p=0.019), which may account for their lower LDL-cholesterol levels. Cholesterol esterification kinetics and transfer of non-esterified and esterified cholesterol, phospholipids and triglycerides from LDE to HDL were also equal.

Conclusion

T1DM patients under intensive insulin treatment but with poor glycemic control had lower LDL-cholesterol with higher LDE plasma clearance, indicating that LDL plasma removal was even more efficient than in controls. Furthermore, HDL-cholesterol and triglycerides, cholesterol esterification and transfer of lipids to HDL, an important step in reverse cholesterol transport, were all normal. Coexistence of high glycemia levels with normal intravascular lipid metabolism may be related to differences in exogenous insulin bioavailabity and different insulin mechanisms of action on glucose and lipids. Those findings may have important implications for prevention of macrovascular disease by intensive insulin treatment.
Extinction and decay estimates of solutions for a porous medium equation with nonlocal source and strong absorption
Authors: Xu Xianghui , Fang Zhong Bo , Yi Su-Cheol
Published: February 2013

In this paper, we investigate extinction properties of the solutions for the initial Dirichlet boundary value problem of a porous medium equation with nonlocal source and strong absorption terms. We obtain some sufficient conditions for the extinction of nonnegative nontrivial weak solutions and the corresponding decay estimates which depend on the initial data, coefficients, and domains.
Randomized controlled trial comparing telephone and mail follow-up for recruitment of participants into a clinical trial of colorectal cancer screening
Authors: Wong Arthur D , Kirby John , Guyatt Gordon H , Moayyedi Paul , Vora Parag , You John J
Published: February 2013

Background

Investigators often face challenges when recruiting participants into randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Some data suggest that telephone reminders may lead to greater participant enrollment.

Methods

Patients aged 50 to 70 years from family practice rosters were initially mailed invitations to participate in an RCT of colorectal cancer screening. Patients who did not respond were randomly allocated to follow-up invitations by either telephone or mail four weeks after the initial invitation. The primary outcome was attendance for eligibility screening with the study nurse.

Results

After mailing invitations to 1,348 patients, 104 patients were initially enrolled in the RCT of colon cancer screening. Of 952 patients who did not respond to the initial mailed invitation, we randomly allocated 480 to follow-up invitation by telephone and 472 to follow-up invitation by mail. Attendance for eligibility screening with the study nurse was more frequent when non-responders were followed-up by telephone (84/480, 17.5%) than by mail (43/472, 9.1%) (relative risk (RR) 1.92, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.36 to 2.71,P< 0.001). Enrollment into the RCT was also greater among patients followed-up by telephone (59/480, 12.3%) compared to those followed-up by mail (35/472, 7.4%) (RR 1.66, 95% CI 1.11 to 2.47,P=0.01).

Conclusions

Telephone-based follow-up results in greater enrollment compared to a mail-based method. Our findings should be of interest to investigators conducting RCTs, particularly trials of screening interventions involving asymptomatic participants for which volunteer participation may be challenging.

Trial registration

Clinicaltrials.gov NCT00865527
Relative bioavailability and comparative clinical efficacy of different ivermectin oral formulations in lambs
Authors: Suárez Gonzalo , Alvarez Luis , Castells Daniel , Correa Oscar , Fagiolino Pietro , Lanusse Carlos
Published: February 2013

Background

Several oral ivermectin (IVM) formulations for use in sheep are available in the pharmaceutical veterinary market in different countries. All of them are indicated at the same dose rate to treat the gastrointestinal nematodes. However, there is a lack of information on the relative systemic exposure (plasma bioavailability) and clinical efficacy among oral formulations routinely used in sheep. The main goal of the work reported here was to perform a pharmaco-parasitological assessment of three different IVM oral formulations in lambs infected with multiple resistant gastrointestinal nematodes. The comparative drug systemic exposure (IVM plasma concentrations) and nematodicidal efficacies (clinical efficacy) in lambs were determined for a reference (RF) and two different test (T1, T2) IVM oral formulations. One hundred and fifty six (n= 156) healthy Corriedale lambs, naturally infected with multiple resistant gastrointestinal nematodes were allocated into four experimental groups (n=39). Animals in each group received treatment (200 μg/kg) with either the RF, one of the test IVM formulations or were kept as untreated control. Blood samples were collected over 15 days post-treatment (n=8). The IVM plasma concentrations were measured by high performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection. The faecal nematode egg count reduction test (FECRT) (n=39) and evaluation of the clinical efficacy were performed at day 14 post-treatment (n=6), where a predominance of IVM highly resistant nematodes was observed.

Results and conclusions

Neither the overall kinetic behaviour nor the IVM systemic exposure differed among all the tested oral formulations. Equivalent efficacy results were obtained for the different preparations, with an evident therapeutic failure to control Haemonchus spp. and Teladorsagia circumcincta, which correlates with a high degree of nematode resistance to IVM.
KRAS Mutation: Should We Test for It, and Does It Matter?
Authors: Roberts Patrick J. , Stinchcombe Thomas E.
Published: February 2013

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer mortality in the United States and worldwide. Previously, lung cancer was simplistically divided into non–small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and small-cell lung cancer. However, in the last decade, we have gone from a simplistic binary system of classifying lung cancer to defining NSCLC on the basis of molecular subsets. KRAS mutations represent the most common molecular change in NSCLC. The presence of KRAS mutation has been shown to be associated with a poor prognosis in NSCLC, but this is of little clinical utility. More important is determining the clinical utility of KRAS mutational analysis for predicting benefit of chemotherapy, epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs), anti-EGFR monoclonal antibodies, or other novel therapeutics. Current data does not support the routine use of KRAS mutational analysis for predicting chemotherapy benefit. Additionally, there was significant interest in using KRAS status to select patients for EGFR TKI and anti-EGFR monoclonal antibodies. However, the EGFR mutational status has demonstrated significant predictive value in the selection of patients for EGFR TKI therapy and is now the preferred test. An association between KRAS mutational status and benefit of anti-EGFR monoclonal antibodies has not been demonstrated in NSCLC. Here we review, in the context of NSCLC, the underlying biology of KRAS mutations, the predictive value of KRAS mutations for therapeutic intervention, and the integration of KRAS mutational testing into our current clinical paradigms.
ERCC1 and RRM1: Ready for Prime Time?
Authors: Besse Benjamin , Olaussen Ken A. , Soria Jean-Charles
Published: February 2013

The quest for markers of sensitivity to cytotoxic agents has been ongoing for decades. In non–small-cell lung cancer, platinum compounds represent the cornerstone of systemic therapy. They target DNA and induce damage that cancer cells struggle to overcome. Somatic excision repair cross-complementing rodent repair deficiency, complementation group 1 (ERCC1), and ribonucleotide reductase M1 (RRM1) expression levels have been extensively explored as markers of DNA repair capacity in tumor cells. Although low ERCC1 and/or RRM1 expression is generally associated with sensitivity to platinum, the results published in retrospective and prospective studies are not always consistent. Against this background, we will examine in this review the function of these two biomarkers as well as the tools available for their assessment and the associated technical issues. Their prognostic and predictive values will be summarized and considered in terms of customizing systemic therapy according to biomarker (ERCC1 and RRM1) expression levels. We will also discuss why the use of both markers should at this point be restricted to clinical research and underline that functional readouts of DNA repair will help boost future strategies for biomarker discovery in the field.
Implementation of Universal Microsatellite Instability and Immunohistochemistry Screening for Diagnosing Lynch Syndrome in a Large Academic Medical Center
Authors: Heald Brandie , Plesec Thomas , Liu Xiuli , Pai Rish , Patil Deepa , Moline Jessica , Sharp Richard R. , Burke Carol A. , Kalady Matthew F. , Church James , Eng Charis
Published: February 2013

Purpose

In 2009, the Evaluation of Genomic Applications in Practice and Prevention recommended that all colorectal cancers (CRCs) be screened for Lynch syndrome (LS) through microsatellite instability (MSI) or immunohistochemistry (IHC). No studies report how this process is implemented on a health system–wide basis.

Methods

Since 2004, Cleveland Clinic has screened CRC specimens with MSI/IHC. Between January 2004 and July 2007, MSI/IHC results went only to the colorectal surgeon (approach 1). Between August 2007 and June 2008, colorectal surgeons and a genetic counselor received the MSI/IHC results, and the counselor e-mailed the colorectal surgeon regarding appropriate patients for genetic counseling (GC) referral (approach 2). After July 2008, the colorectal surgeon and counselor received MSI/IHC results, but the counselor contacted the patient to facilitate referral (approach 3). In approaches 2 and 3, patients were presumed to have sporadic CRC if the tumor lacked MLH1 expression and was also BRAF mutated or if the patient was diagnosed at age greater than 72 years and had no cancer family history.

Results

Abnormal MSI/IHC results occurred in 178 (16%) of 1,108 patients. In approach 1, 21 (55%) of 38 patients with abnormal MSI/IHC were referred for GC, 12 (32%) of 38 underwent GC, and 10 (26%) of 38 underwent genetic testing (GT). In approach 2, nine (82%) of 11 patients were referred for GC, seven (64%) of 11 underwent GC, and five (45%) of 11 underwent GT. In approach 3, 56 (100%) of 56 patients were referred for GC, 40 (71%) of 56 underwent GC, and 37 (66%) of 56 underwent GT. Time from referral to GC was 10-fold quicker in approach 3 than approach 1.

Conclusion

Implementation of universal MSI/IHC with GC/GT, along with effective multidisciplinary communication and plans of responsibility for patient contact, resulted in increased identification of patients with LS.
Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group Maximizes Revenue Through Improved Demand Management and Price Optimization
Authors: Pekgün Pelin , Menich Ronald P. , Acharya Suresh , Finch Phillip G. , Deschamps Frederic , Mallery Kathleen , Sistine Jim Van , Christianson Kyle , Fuller James
Published: February 2013

Under changing market conditions for the hospitality industry, the Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group (CRHG) collaborated with JDA Software Group to use operations research to drive higher revenue for its hoteliers and to stay ahead of the competition. This highly innovative revenue optimization project, Stay Night Automated Pricing (SNAP), started with enterprise demand forecasting across 600 US hotels in 2007. It was followed by a large-scale network optimization solution to dynamically optimize hotel room rates based on price elasticity of demand, competitor rates, availability of remaining inventory, demand forecasts, and business rules. All North American hotels were operational in SNAP by March 2011. Starting from the optimization prototyping results in 2008, CRHG consistently measured a 2–4 percent revenue improvement in compliant hotels over noncompliant ones. To date, compliant hotels have increased revenue by more than $16 million annually. After a successful deployment in the Americas, CRHG extended the partnership with JDA to globally roll out SNAP, with an initial focus on Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific region. CRHG anticipates that the worldwide incremental revenue from this solution will exceed $30 million annually.
Introduction: 2012 Franz Edelman Award for Achievement in Operations Research and the Management Sciences
Authors: Graves Stephen C. , Milne R. John
Published: February 2013

This special issue of Interfaces is devoted to the finalists of the 41st annual competition for the Franz Edelman Award for Achievement in Operations Research and the Management Sciences, the profession’s prestigious award for the practice of operations research and business analytics. As in previous years, the finalists this year cover a wide range of industries, functions, and countries around the globe.
Advancing Public Health and Medical Preparedness with Operations Research
Authors: Lee Eva K. , Pietz Ferdinand , Benecke Bernard , Mason Jacquelyn , Burel Greg
Published: February 2013

Planning for a catastrophe involving a disease outbreak with the potential for mass casualties is a significant challenge for emergency managers. Public health experts at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) teamed with operations researchers to address important aspects of mass dispensing: medical supply distribution, locations of dispensing facilities, optimal facility staffing and resource allocation, routing of the population, and dispensing methods. Simulation-optimization technology was integrated into a decision support and data management suite, RealOpt©, for tactical and strategic operational planning. RealOpt has enabled the CDC to provide modern tools that support dynamic planning for emergencies and that establish a knowledge data bank to provide feedback about the deployment of various techniques. The RealOpt suite now has a US user base of over 6,500 public health and emergency directors covering all states, plus many international users. RealOpt has been applied in hundreds of drills and dispensing events, including anthrax preparedness, and for seasonal flu and H1N1 vaccination events.
Putting higher education in its place: the socio-political geographies of English universities
Authors: Cochrane Allan , Williams Ruth
Published: February 2013

Traditionally, universities have been understood in terms that assume their special status within the social world – somehow divorced from the places within which they find themselves. Yet they are also increasingly expected to make some contribution to regional development. With the help of evidence drawn from an Economic and Social Research Council project, this article sets out to explore some of the implications of recognising the importance of the changing policy geographies of higher education. It highlights the extent to which and considers the ways in which universities are embedded within their regions and localities, while also being connected to a wider set of relationships.
Institutionally homophobic? Political parties and the substantive representation of LGBT people: Westminster and regional UK elections 1945–2011
Authors: Chaney Paul
Published: February 2013

This article explores the substantive representation of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people in party manifestos in general elections and regional elections in the United Kingdom, 1945–2011. The findings show that while there is some evidence of progress, there is also significant variation in the attention that parties afford to LGBT issues, and a general failure to fully apply international principles and mainstreaming theory in election programmes. It is argued that an ‘asymmetrical electoral bargain’ applies: parties increasingly court LGBT voters yet often do so in a reductive and limited manner. This suggests that elements of institutionally homophobic practice endure in contemporary electoral politics.
Rhetoric in policy texts: the role of enthymeme in Darzi’s review of the NHS
Authors: Morrell Kevin , Hewison Alistair
Published: February 2013

Political administrations try to present their policies in the best light to justify the ownership of power, and in doing so rely on rhetoric. The documents through which they communicate policy (policy texts) use rhetorical devices to do so. Through these, administrations need to create the impression that they have chosen the best possible course of action, and they also need to create the impression that they are doing something innovative. Both are aspects of entailment, and both are necessary to appeal to multiple constituencies. We illustrate this theoretical argument with analysis of a recent review of NHS policy.
Persistent poverty and children’s development in the early years of childhood
Authors: Holmes John , Kiernan Kathleen
Published: February 2013

Reducing child poverty has been a policy of successive United Kingdom (UK) governments. However, the reduction of persistent poverty has only recently featured on the policy agenda. This article uses longitudinal data on early childhood to examine developmental contexts and outcomes of persistently poor children and to establish contexts that may promote resilience. Results show that persistently poor children have more disadvantageous developmental contexts than children in poverty for shorter periods and that they have worse developmental outcomes. Resilience may be promoted by improving parenting behaviours and attitudes and improving maternal mental health.
Representing the family: how does the state ‘think family’?
Authors: Cornford James , Baines Susan , Wilson Rob
Published: February 2013

Over the last decade the family and family-centred policies and practices have received increasing attention within the public service agenda, culminating in the emphatic instruction to ‘think family’ individually, collectively and institutionally. This has occurred at a time when the sociology of the family has increasingly emphasised the difficulties of thinking family in a coherent way. In this article we explore this agenda through an examination of the representational tools with which public service professionals and managers have been recently equipped. We conclude by questioning the adequacy of these tools for effectively representing family relations.
Institutional filters: the translation and re-circulation of ideas about health inequalities within policy
Authors: Smith Katherine
Published: February 2013

Taking health inequalities in the United Kingdom as a case study, this article adopts a ‘discursive institutionalist’ approach to explore how the organisation of policy-making bodies shapes the relationship between research and policy. It demonstrates how policy ‘silos’ and hierarchies work as filters to research-based ideas, encouraging those ideas that support existing institutionalised ideas (or ‘policy paradigms’), while blocking or significantly transforming more challenging ideas. This limits the extent to which research can inform policy. Yet, a lack of institutional memory within policy making enables recycled ideas to appear innovative, creating an impression of meaningful, ongoing dialogue between research and policy.
Plural forms of evidence in public health: tolerating epistemological and methodological diversity
Authors: Lambert Helen
Published: February 2013

What counts as ‘evidence’ is a question that has been explored in many arenas, but it has been a particular focus of debate in the health sector, where the notion of systematically appraising data about the effectiveness of interventions in order to inform everyday practice was first promulgated. In its original form, ‘evidence-based medicine’ (EBM) referred to the application of research findings from the study of populations to the clinical treatment of individuals and it was initially envisaged as a means to aid clinical decision making in biomedical practice.
Plural forms of evidence and uncertainty in environmental health: a comparison of two Chinese cases
Authors: Lora-Wainwright Anna
Published: February 2013

This paper examines the plural forms of evidence of harm presented by the residents of two Chinese villages affected by severe pollution. Conversely, it scrutinises how and why the antonym to evidence – uncertainty – is emphasised and with what effects. It argues that their uncertainty surrounding environmental health harm is a result of the contexts in which evidence is embedded.
Evidence, policy and pragmatics: a case study on the development of a national research and data strategy on children’s lives and the role of knowledge exchange
Authors: Hanafin Sinéad , Roche Gillian , Brooks Anne-Marie , Meaney Bairbre
Published: February 2013

This paper presents a case study on the transfer of research into policy and describes how evidence was used to inform, develop, frame and ultimately agree a national strategy for research and data on children's lives in Ireland. The paper highlights key issues arising in the research–policy exchange, but also argues that evidence on its own, while vital and helpful, is insufficient to develop strategy. The paper concludes by highlighting other brokering, pragmatic and strategic considerations that need to be addressed if implementation is to be agreed.
Rapid evidence assessments of research to inform social policy: taking stock and moving forward
Authors: Thomas James , Newman Mark , Oliver Sandy
Published: February 2013

There is a tension between conducting comprehensive systematic reviews and completing them in time to meet policy-making deadlines. The ‘rapid evidence assessment’ has been proposed as a solution to this; offering rigorous reviews in a condensed timescale. While used frequently in healthcare, this mode of reviewing presents considerable challenges in social policy. We describe some potential problems and suggest reviewing strategies that can overcome some of them. There are situations, however, in which it may not be feasible to embark on a rapid review, and caution should be exercised when selecting this method.
Knowing what we are talking about: why evidence doesn't always travel
Authors: Cartwright Nancy
Published: February 2013

When is a well-established study result that a given policy/programme/treatment produced a given outcome in a particular study setting (‘there’) evidence that that policy/programme/ treatment will produce that outcome in a new setting (‘here’)? This paper insists that ‘there’ and ‘here’ be firmly distinguished and offers in answer that we must have evidence that two further facts obtain: (a) that the policy can play the same causal role widely (widely enough to cover both here and there) and (b) that a complete set of the support factors necessary for the policy to operate here are present in some individuals here.
Pragmatic politics and epistemological diversity: the contested and authoritative uses of historical evidence in the Safe Motherhood Initiative
Authors: Béhague Dominique , Storeng Katerini
Published: February 2013

In recent years, the demand for cost-effective evidence of health impact has grown exponentially, often to the exclusion of other disciplines and of epidemiology's longstanding interest in the multivariate determinants of health. Drawing on an ethnography of the Safe Motherhood Initiative, this paper focuses on experts who, in producing historical case-study evidence, exceptionally inhabit a stigmatising epistemological position while still successfully commanding the respect of policy makers. To theorise the sources and effects of this epistemic diversity, we draw on the anthropology and sociology of science, and specifically on Holmes and Marcus’ analyses of ‘para-ethnographic’ modes of reasoning.
Public health evaluation: epistemological challenges to evidence production and use
Authors: Petticrew Mark
Published: February 2013

In public health, as in other fields, there has been much discussion about the type of evidence we need for decision making. In particular, there has been much debate about how the production of trials can be increased. However, this is not the only challenge and perhaps not even the main one. A better understanding is needed of why trials are not conducted, and what sort of evidence is used in their place. More generally, researchers need a better understanding of the ways in which other forms of evidence than trials are informative to decision makers.
Experience, knowledge and evidence: a comparison of research relations in health and anthropology
Authors: McKevitt Christopher
Published: February 2013

Patient and public involvement in health research has been promoted by the United Kingdom's Department of Health and its research funding agencies for at least a decade. The policy rhetoric through which it is promoted is based on the idea that patients’ experiential knowledge can be harnessed to improve the quality and relevance of health research. This paper uses the comparative case of post-colonial critiques of anthropology to propose ways of thinking about the implicit and explicit claims underpinning assumptions about experiential knowledge. It focuses on three areas of debate: insider knowledge, and authenticity; objectivity/subjectivity; and ethical and political engagement.
Text and Image: The Internet Generation Reads "The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber"
Authors: Godfrey Laura Gruber
Published: February 2013

This essay assesses how digital media—and particularly online reading habits—have begun to affect some of the standard texts for teaching literature to college students. In particular, I examine Ernest Hemingway's "The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber" as it appears in a recent anthology, Literature: Craft and Voice , published in 2010. The anthology's editors state explicitly that their aim is to help "students learn the art of sustained reading" in the midst of "a visual age" and "the skim-and-grab reading that permeates our Internet culture." With this in mind, their designers have created "a text for reading" that includes arresting visuals throughout the text. This essay considers how the anthology's photographs compete with Hemingway's narrative design and discusses Hemingway's own complex attitude toward visual accompaniments.
Traumatizing Arcadia: Postwar Pastoral in The Sun Also Rises
Authors: Cannon Michael Von
Published: February 2013

Much WW I literature uses pastoral themes to rebuke the war, to represent the tendency of repression, and to express traumatic moments reexperienced by those in the trenches and at home. In The Great Gatsby and Parade's End, pastoral communicates questions concerning progress and postwar optimism felt by characters who work to recover the past, reconstruct the future, and repress the presence of the war and its consequences. However, Ernest Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises subverts pastoral's retreat-return structure in order to emphasize moments of traumatic re-emergence and to counter any idea of repression and recovery.
Ernest Hemingway and T.S. Eliot: A Tangled Relationship
Authors: Flora Joseph M.
Published: February 2013

This essay proposes that although Hemingway would never acknowledge it, T.S. Eliot was an important early "mentor"—one Hemingway could not put aside. Ezra Pound's greatest service to Hemingway may have been directing him to Eliot's poetry just when The Waste Land made Eliot the dominant poet of Literary Modernism. The two writers never met, but Hemingway nevertheless continued to read, to ponder, and to remember Eliot's poetry and his criticism. Despite his habit of mocking Eliot in print, Hemingway was in fact the poet's irreverent disciple.