bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Retained entrapped coronary stent appearing like an aortic flap
Authors: Hajsadeghi Shokoufeh , Pakbaz Marziyeh , Marzban Mehrab , Pourebrahim Nematollah
Published: February 2019

Entrapment of coronary angioplasty hardware is a rare but serious complication of coronary interventions which may be managed percutaneously or surgically. We described a case of an entrapped coronary stent in a patient with a history of failed coronary intervention with no documents available. In transesophageal echocardiography, there was a linear echo density in the ascending aorta stuck in the right coronary artery resembling a dissection flap but based on the history of failed coronary intervention, this odd structure was supposed to be a retained angioplasty device. The patient underwent surgical removal of the entrapped device which was a fractured stent.
Traits linked with species invasiveness and community invasibility vary with time, stage and indicator of invasion in a long‐term grassland experiment
Authors: Catford Jane A. , Smith Annabel L. , Wragg Peter D. , Clark Adam T. , Kosmala Margaret , Cavender‐Bares Jeannine , Reich Peter B. , Tilman David
Published: February 2019

Much uncertainty remains about traits linked with successful invasion – the establishment and spread of non‐resident species into existing communities. Using a 20‐year experiment, where 50 non‐resident (but mostly native) grassland plant species were sown into savannah plots, we ask how traits linked with invasion depend on invasion stage (establishment, spread), indicator of invasion success (occupancy, relative abundance), time, environmental conditions, propagule rain, and traits of invaders and invaded communities. Trait data for 164 taxa showed that invader occupancy was primarily associated with traits of invaders, traits of recipient communities, and invader‐community interactions. Invader abundance was more strongly associated with community traits (e.g. proportion legume) and trait differences between invaders and the most similar resident species. Annuals and invaders with high‐specific leaf area were only successful early in stand development, whereas invaders with conservative carbon capture strategies persisted long‐term. Our results indicate that invasion is context‐dependent and long‐term experiments are required to comprehensively understand invasions.
Typicality‐based collaborative filtering for book recommendation
Authors: B.L. Velammal
Published: February 2019

Nowadays, personalized recommender system placed an important role to predict the customer needs, interest about particular product in various application domains, which is identified according to the product ratings. During this process, collaborative filtering (CF) has been utilized because it is one of familiar techniques in recommender systems. The conventional CF methods analyse historical interactions of user‐item pairs based on known ratings and then use these interactions to produce recommendations. The major challenge in CF is that it needs to calculate the similarity of each pair of users or items by observing the ratings of users on same item, whereas the typicality‐based CF determines the neighbours from user groups based on their typicality degree. Typicality‐based CF can predict the ratings of users with improved accuracy. However, to eliminate the cold start problem in the proposed recommender system, the demographic filtering method has been employed in addition to the typicality‐based CF. A weighted average scheme has been applied on the combined recommendation results of both typicality‐based CF and demographic‐based CF to produce the best recommendation result for the user. Thereby, the proposed system has been able to achieve a coverage ratio of more than 95%, which indicates that the system is able to provide better recommendation for the user from the available lot of products.
Metaheuristic algorithm to train product and sigmoid neural network classifiers
Authors: Tallón‐Ballesteros Antonio J.
Published: February 2019

This paper develops three frameworks based on a metaheuristic algorithm to train neural network classifiers. The architecture is a single‐hidden‐layer feedforward network. The first methodology spreads a base configuration over the nodes of a computing cluster; each of them executes the same algorithm to train the neural network with a different parameter setting. The second approach does a refined training via a biphase metaheuristic algorithm to maintain the diversity a period longer than the usual; it may be run in a sequential or distributed way. The third framework performs a data preparation phase by means of feature subset selection to reduce the number of inputs to the biphase metaheuristic algorithm. The two first methodologies have been tested using a complete test bed with product and unipolar sigmoid units in the hidden layer, and the statistical tests reveal that product nodes are significantly the most accurate. The third framework has included four feature subset selectors with different properties to reduce the number of inputs to the product unit artificial neural network, and the nonstatistical test shed light on that the results with a preprocessing phase are significantly more accurate than the results with the raw data.
On the use of ear and profile faces for distinguishing identical twins and nontwins
Authors: Toygar Önsen , Alqaralleh Esraa , Afaneh Ayman
Published: February 2019

This study aims to measure the efficiency of ear and profile face in distinguishing identical twins under identification and verification modes. In addition, to distinguish identical twins by ear and profile face separately, we propose to fuse these traits with all possible binary combinations of left ear, left profile face, right ear, and right profile face. Fusion is implemented by score‐level fusion and decision‐level fusion techniques in the proposed method. Additionally, feature‐level fusion is used for comparison. All experiments in this paper are also implemented on nontwins individuals, and the recognition performance of twins and nontwins are compared. Local binary patterns, local phase quantization, and binarized statistical image features approaches are used as texture‐based descriptors for feature extraction process. Images under controlled and uncontrolled lighting are tested. Ear and profile images from ND‐TWINS‐2009‐2010 dataset are used in the experiments. The experimental results show that the proposed method is more accurate and reliable than using ear or profile face images separately. The performance of the proposed method for recognizing identical twins as recognition rate is 100% and 99.45%, and equal error rates are 0.54% and 1.63% in controlled and uncontrolled illumination conditions, respectively.
Recurrent peripheral ameloblastoma in an elderly patient: A case report
Authors: de Assis Eliene Magda , Gomes Hayder Egg , de Sousa Felipe Esteves Milício , Brener Sylvie , Leal Rosana Maria , Souza Paulo Eduardo Alencar , Horta Martinho Campolina Rebello
Published: February 2019

Objective

To report a case of recurrent peripheral ameloblastoma (PA) in an elderly patient.

Background

PA is a benign tumour that affects soft tissues of gingiva or edentulous alveolar areas, exhibiting histopathological characteristics of ameloblastoma.

Methods

A 79‐year‐old man showed a nodule in the edentulous right mandibular alveolar ridge diagnosed as recurrent PA.

Conclusion

Clinicians should consider PA as a differential diagnosis of routine nodular lesions affecting the oral mucosa of geriatric patients.
Functional mobility trajectories of hospitalized older adults admitted to acute geriatric wards: A retrospective observational study in an English university hospital
Authors: Lyons Adam , Romero‐Ortuno Roman , Hartley Peter
Published: February 2019

Aim

The mobility trajectories of hospitalized older people are heterogeneous, and there is a need to understand patient groups with similar trajectories. Our aims were to identify mobility trajectories of older patients admitted to geriatric wards in an English university hospital, and describe patient characteristics and outcomes associated with different mobility groups.

Methods

A retrospective observational study of first admissions to geriatric wards for 3 months starting 1 May 2016 was carried out. Anonymized routinely collected clinical data was extracted from the electronic patient records: age, sex, Clinical Frailty Scale score, presence of delirium (yes/no), diagnosis of dementia (yes/no), Charlson Comorbidity Index, falls in the past year and the highest recorded Modified Early Warning Score in the Emergency Department. Physiotherapists routinely collected the Elderly Mobility Scale on admission and discharge; this information was entered in a K‐means cluster analysis to identify mobility trajectory groups. We compared clinical characteristics and outcomes between these groups and used logistic regression models to determine independent predictors of group membership.

Results

The overall functional trajectory was improvement, from a median Elderly Mobility Scale of 11 on admission to 14 on discharge. Cluster analysis identified five mobility trajectory groups: low‐low (n = 117), intermediate‐intermediate (n = 95), intermediate‐high (n = 205), low‐high (n = 89) and high‐high (n = 209). Higher frailty and the presence of cognitive impairment were associated with the low‐low and intermediate‐intermediate group membership, and negatively associated with the high‐high group membership.

Conclusions

The majority of hospitalized patients experienced functional improvement. Frailty and cognitive impairment might be associated with poorer mobility trajectories and hence require early identification. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2019; 19: 305–310.
The role of job uncertainty in inter‐regional commuting: The case of Italy
Authors: Parenti Angela , Tealdi Cristina
Published: February 2019

This paper studies the evolution of the determinants of inter‐regional commuting in Italy in the period 1992–2016, during which the labour market has been significantly reformed. To capture the changes in commuting patterns, the analysis of the role of individual, job, firm, and regional characteristics is performed. Specifically, the focus is on the impact of job uncertainty at both micro and macro level, through the analysis of the way the diffusion of temporary contracts has affected the decision to commute for work. The findings suggest that in more recent years workers hired on a temporary contract are more likely to commute to another region. Moreover, the higher the relative share of temporary contracts in the region of residence, the higher the probability of commuting across regions. These findings support the idea that the strong utilisation of (short) temporary contracts represents a push factor, which drives workers away in search of better job opportunities, with potentially negative consequences for poorly performing regions.
Statin use among Veterans with dialysis‐dependent chronic kidney disease
Authors: Markossian Talar W. , Kramer Holly J. , Burge Nicholas J. , Pacold Ivan V. , Leehey David J. , Huo Zhiping , Schneider Julia , Ling Benjamin , Stroupe Kevin T.
Published: February 2019

Introduction: The benefits of statin medications in patients receiving maintenance dialysis remains controversial and clinical trials overall have shown no benefit. Potential side effects of statin medications include myalgias, myopathy, and memory loss and risk of side effects associated with statin medications increase with higher statin doses. We examined statin use and statin dose among Veterans with dialysis dependent CKD. Such information may help clinicians modulate medication use and reduce pill burden in appropriate patients.

Methods: This cross‐sectional analysis ascertained medication utilization by linking records from the U.S. Department of Veteran's Affairs (VA) Managerial Cost Accounting Pharmacy National Data Extracts and Medicare Part D during calendar year 2013 for Veterans with dialysis‐dependent CKD enrolled in and/or using VA healthcare. The venue of dialysis and patient characteristics were ascertained by linking VA Medical SAS datasets, VA Fee Basis datasets (for non‐VA care paid for by VA), Medicare claims and the United States Renal Data Systems patient core files.

Findings: We identified 18,494 Veterans with dialysis‐dependent CKD who were enrolled in and/or used VA healthcare, had no history of kidney transplantation, and were alive on January 1, 2014. More than half (58.1%) of Veterans with dialysis‐dependent CKD used statins and 35.7% of statin utilization was high dose. Statins were the third most commonly prescribed medication after beta blockers (64.8%) and phosphate binders (64.5%).

Discussion: Statins are a commonly prescribed medication among Veterans receiving maintenance dialysis and approximately one‐third of statin utilization is high dose in this population. Future studies should examine patient preferences, comorbidities, and dialysis characteristics that impact the risks and benefits of statin use in order to identify those patients who will or will not benefit from continued statin use.
From traditional to alternative feedback: What do L2 elementary students think?
Authors: Mak Pauline
Published: February 2019

This study investigates students' perceptions about their teachers' adoption of a new way to use feedback in writing classrooms in two elementary schools in Hong Kong. The innovation comprises three feedback stages (i.e., pre‐feedback, during‐feedback and post‐feedback) over the course of a teaching‐learning cycle to maximize the potential of feedback to the learning effectiveness of the students. Data included student questionnaires, interviews with students and teachers, lesson observations as well as documentary analysis of teaching material. Results indicate that the students considered feedback delivery in the three stages as beneficial to their interest, confidence, motivation and self‐perceived performance in writing. The article highlights the need to offer feedback in all three feedback phases to maximize its effectiveness and to offer a more positive learning experience to students.
HLA‐DQ2 homozygosis increases tTGA levels at diagnosis but does not influence the clinical phenotype of coeliac disease: A multicentre study
Authors: Bajor Judit , Szakács Zsolt , Juhász Márk , Papp Mária , Kocsis Dorottya , Szegedi Éva , Földi Ildikó , Farkas Nelli , Hegyi Péter , Vincze Áron
Published: February 2019

Background and purpose

Magnitude of gluten‐specific T‐cell responses in coeliac disease (CD) might be dependent on HLA‐DQ2 gene dose. We aimed to investigate the effects of HLA‐DQB1*02 allele dose on clinical outcomes.

Methods

We reviewed the charts of all coeliac patients attending to three Hungarian university clinics after 1997 and included those patients, who (a) were diagnosed with CD, (b) underwent high‐resolution HLA typing and (c) were ≥18 years at the time of data collection. HLA typing was performed to determine DQB1*02 allele dose. Patients were divided into risk groups by DQB1*02 allele dose, as follows: high‐, intermediate‐ and low‐risk groups corresponded to a double, single and zero doses, respectively. We used ANOVA and Pearson's chi‐squared test to explore association between HLA risk and clinical variables.

Results

A total of 727 coeliac patients attended the clinics but only 105 (14.4%) patients were eligible for inclusion. High, intermediate and low HLA risk patients comprised 35.3%, 52.3% and 12.3% of the study population, respectively. Double dose of HLA‐DQB1*02 was more frequent in patient with high tTGA level (>10 times the upper limit of normal; p = 0.045). Gene dose was not associated with younger age at diagnosis (p = 0.549), gender (p = 0.739), more severe diagnostic histology (p = 0.318), more frequent classical presentation (p = 0.846), anaemia (p = 0.611), metabolic bone disease (p = 0.374), dermatitis herpetiformis (p = 0.381) and autoimmune diseases (p = 0.837).

Conclusions

Our study shows a significant gene dose effect in terms of tTGA level at diagnosis, but no significant association between HLA‐DQB1*02 allele dose and the clinical outcomes in CD.
Comparison of the bone marrow trephine sample quality between OnControl drill system and the Jamshidi needle
Authors: Forwood Kathryn M. , Lee Edwin , Crispin Philip J.
Published: February 2019

Introduction

Bone marrow biopsies are a key diagnostic and monitoring intervention in haematology with manual bone marrow techniques the established method of choice. Powered biopsy devices are now available, but are not widely used in haematology. This study compared the quality of bone marrow trephines obtained with the Jamshidi needle and OnControl powered drill system.

Methods

Retrospective analysis was undertaken on trephine samples prior to and after implementation of the OnControl drill system. Trephine size and quality were assessed independently by three pathologists and compared between techniques and operators using nonparametric tests.

Results

There were 164 samples assessed (Jamshidi n = 69, OnControl, same site as aspirate n = 48, OnControl, separate site from aspirate n = 47). The assessable and total length were similar between the Jamshidi and OnControl techniques, with increased crush artefact observed with the OnControl drill (P < 0.001). Using a separate puncture site for trephine collection and aspirate did not reduce the artefact seen with the OnControl system (P = 0.274). Smaller samples (P < 0.001) and an increase in crushed (P = 0.009) and connective tissue (P = 0.002) were seen in trephines obtained by nonlaboratory‐based trainees, regardless of the needle used or their stage of training, compared to laboratory trainees.

Conclusions

Trephines obtained by either method had similar assessable areas. The OnControl system was associated with more artefact, a finding in line with previous studies. There was no improvement by sampling the trephine from a separate site to the aspirate. Laboratory‐based trainees who reviewed marrow morphology produced trephines with better assessable length than those not based in the laboratory.
Macrophage metabolism: a wound‐healing perspective
Authors: Caputa George , Flachsmann Lea J , Cameron Alanna M
Published: February 2019

Macrophages are a critical component of the innate immune response, and compose the first response to perturbations in tissue homeostasis. Their unique ability to dynamically integrate diverse stimuli underlies their important role in the healing response from first insult to re‐establishment of tissue homeostasis. While the roles of macrophages in tissue repair have been well‐described in vitro and in vivo, the influence of cellular metabolism on macrophage function during tissue repair remains an unexplored area of immunometabolism. In this review, we will explore the unique metabolic requirements of inflammatory and anti‐inflammatory macrophages and the potential contribution of macrophage metabolism to each phase of wound healing.
Linearisation for Variance Estimation by Means of Sampling Indicators: Application to Non‐response
Authors: Vallée Audrey‐Anne , Tillé Yves
Published: February 2019

In the presence of non‐response, it is usual to impute missing values, to reweight responding units and to adapt the estimators accordingly. The computation of the precision of the estimators becomes rapidly complex; it must take into account the sampling design, the treatment and the refinement of the estimators. In the absence of non‐response, it is possible to linearise estimators with respect to the sampling indicators to compute explicit variance estimators. In this paper, we extend this linearisation method to deal with non‐response. It becomes particularly straightforward to compute explicit variance estimators. Some known results are revisited in a simpler way than the usual developments, and new results for complex estimators are proposed. A simulation study evaluates the proposed methodology.
Insight into luminescent properties, energy transfer and thermal stability of NaBa4(AlB4O9)2Cl3:Ce3+, Tb3+ phosphors
Authors: Zhang Weilun , Liang Yujun , Zhu Yingli , Liu Shiqi , Li Haoran , Lei Wen
Published: February 2019

A series of Ce3+ and Tb3+ singly‐ and co‐doped NaBa4(AlB4O9)2Cl3 (NBAC) phosphors have been synthesized via high‐temperature solid state route. The crystal structure, morphology, photoluminescent properties, thermal properties and energy transfer process between Ce3+ and Tb3+ were systematically investigated. The structure refinements indicated that the phosphors based on NBAC crystallized in P42nm polar space group in monoclinic phase. The emission color could be tuned from blue (0.1595, 0.0955) to green (0.2689, 0.4334) via changing the ratio of Ce3+/Tb3+. The energy transfer mechanism of Ce3+/Tb3+ was verified to be dipole–quadrupole interaction via the examination of decay times of Ce3+ based on Dexter's theory. The good thermal stability showed the intensities of Ce3+ at 150°C were about 66.9% and 64.88% in NBAC:0.09Ce3+ and NBAC:0.09Ce3+, 0.07Tb3+ of that at room temperature, and the emission intensities of Tb3+ remained 102.41% in NBAC:0.11Tb3+ and 95.22% in NBAC:0.09Ce3+, 0.07Tb3+ due to the nephelauxetic shielding effect and the highly asymmetric rigid framework structure of NBAC. The maximum external quantum efficiency (EQE) of Ce3+ in NBAC:0.09Ce3+, yTb3+ phosphors could reach 43.38% at y = 0.13. Overall, all the results obtained suggested that NBAC:Ce3+, Tb3+ could be a promising option for n‐UV pumped phosphors.
Association between parental autoimmune disease and atopic dermatitis in their offspring: a matched case–control study
Authors: Hamann C.R. , Egeberg A. , Silverberg J.I. , Gislason G. , Skov L. , Thyssen J.P.
Published: February 2019

Background

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is associated with many autoimmune diseases, in part due to overlapping genetic risk loci. While parental atopic disease is an important risk for AD in the offspring, little is known on the putative associations between parental autoimmune disease and AD in their children.

Materials and methods

All children born between 1996 and 2011 who received a diagnosis of AD in the hospital system before their fifth birthday were matched 1 : 10 with children from the general population. Maternal and paternal autoimmune diseases were assessed using registry‐based data. Conditional logistic regression was performed on the relationships between parental autoimmune diseases and AD in their children.

Results

A total of 8589 children with AD were matched with controls. One or more autoimmune disease was identified in 5.89% (506/8589) of mothers to AD children and 3.67% (315/8589) of fathers to AD children compared to 4.85% (4163/85 890) and 3.28% (2816/85 890) in parents of control children. Maternal autoimmune disease but not paternal autoimmune disease was associated with AD in the offspring (odds ratio [OR] 1.20 [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.20–1.32] and OR 1.08 [0.96–1.22], respectively), Two or more maternal autoimmune diseases, maternal dermatologic autoimmune disease and maternal digestive autoimmune disease were all also associated with AD development in her children (1.96 [95% CI 1.36–2.84], OR 1.60 [95% CI 1.24–2.07] and OR 1.24 [95% CI 1.06–1.45], respectively).

Conclusions

The risk of AD is influenced by many factors including atopy status and filaggrin gene mutations. In this matched case–control study, maternal autoimmune disease was associated with AD diagnosis in the offspring. Maternal dermatologic and digestive autoimmune diseases were most closely associated with subsequent AD diagnosis in the offspring.
Austral Summer Bloom of Loricate Choanoflagellates in the Central Ross Sea Polynya
Authors: Escalera Laura , Mangoni Olga , Bolinesi Francesco , Saggiomo Maria
Published: February 2019

A bloom of loricate choanoflagellates was recorded for the first time in the Ross Sea polynya during the austral summer 2017. Both individual cells and uncommon large‐size colonies (200 μm length) represent the 42–55% of the total plankton community (i.e. specimens from 5 to 150 μm length). Choanoflagellates serve as a link between low and mid trophic levels since they prey on bacteria and in turn are ingested by zooplankton. This twofold role and the unusual abundance recorded in the Antarctic ecosystem may have relevant but still unknown effects on food web structure and dynamics in that area.
Searching for responsible and sustainable recreational fisheries in the Anthropocene
Authors: Cooke Steven J. , Twardek William M. , Reid Andrea J. , Lennox Robert J. , Danylchuk Sascha C. , Brownscombe Jacob W. , Bower Shannon D. , Arlinghaus Robert , Hyder Kieran , Danylchuk Andy J.
Published: February 2019

Recreational fisheries that use rod and reel (i.e., angling) operate around the globe in diverse freshwater and marine habitats, targeting many different gamefish species and engaging at least 220 million participants. The motivations for fishing vary extensively; whether anglers engage in catch‐and‐release or are harvest‐oriented, there is strong potential for recreational fisheries to be conducted in a manner that is both responsible and sustainable. There are many examples of recreational fisheries that are well‐managed where anglers, the angling industry and managers engage in responsible behaviours that both contribute to long‐term sustainability of fish populations and the sector. Yet, recreational fisheries do not operate in a vacuum; fish populations face threats and stressors including harvest from other sectors as well as environmental change, a defining characteristic of the Anthropocene. We argue that the future of recreational fisheries and indeed many wild fish populations and aquatic ecosystems depends on having responsible and sustainable (R&S) recreational fisheries whilst, where possible, addressing, or at least lobbying for increased awareness about the threats to recreational fisheries emanating from outside the sector (e.g., climate change). Here, we first consider how the concepts of R&S intersect in the recreational fishing sector in an increasingly complex socio‐cultural context. Next, we explore the role of the angler, angling industry and decision‐makers in achieving R&S fisheries. We extend this idea further by considering the consequences of a future without recreational fisheries (either because of failures related to R&S) and explore a pertinent case study situated in Uttarakahand, India. Unlike other fisheries sectors where the number of participants is relatively small, recreational angling participants are numerous and widespread, such that if their actions are responsible, they have the potential to be a key voice for conservation and serve as a major force for good in the Anthropocene. What remains to be seen is whether this will be achieved, or if failure will occur to the point that recreational fisheries face increasing pressure to cease, as a result of external environmental threats, the environmental effects of recreational fishing and emerging ethical concerns about the welfare of angled fish.
Safety and efficacy of elbasvir/grazoprevir in Asian participants with hepatitis C virus genotypes 1 and 4 infection
Authors: Wei Lai , Kumada Hiromitsu , Perumalswami Ponni V , Tanwandee Tawesak , Cheng Wendy , Heo Jeong , Cheng Pin‐Nan , Hwang Peggy , Mu Sheng Mei , Zhao Xu Min , Asante‐Appiah Ernest , Caro Luzelena , Hanna George J , Robertson Michael N , Haber Barbara A , Talwani Rohit
Published: February 2019

Background and Aim

Estimates suggest that in Asia, more than 31 million individuals have hepatitis C virus infection. The present analysis was conducted to assess the efficacy and safety of elbasvir/grazoprevir in Asian participants enrolled in the elbasvir/grazoprevir phase 2/3 clinical trials.

Methods

This is an integrated analysis of data from 12 international phase 2/3 clinical trials. Asian participants with chronic hepatitis C virus genotype 1 or 4 infection who received elbasvir 50 mg/grazoprevir 100 mg once daily for 12 weeks or elbasvir/grazoprevir plus ribavirin for 16 weeks were included in this analysis. The primary end point was sustained virologic response at 12 weeks after completion of therapy (SVR12).

Results

Seven hundred eighty Asian participants from 15 countries were included in this analysis. SVR12 was achieved by 756/780 (96.9%) of all participants, including 748/772 (96.9%) of those who received elbasvir/grazoprevir for 12 weeks and 8/8 (100%) of those who received elbasvir/grazoprevir plus ribavirin for 16 weeks. In the genotype 1b‐infected population, the SVR12 rate was 691/709 (97.5%), and there was no impact of age, high baseline viral load, or presence of cirrhosis. The most frequently reported adverse events were nasopharyngitis (8.0%), upper respiratory tract infection (5.4%), and diarrhea (5.2%). Twenty participants receiving elbasvir/grazoprevir for 12 weeks reported a total of 25 serious adverse events, and 7 (0.9%) discontinued treatment because of an adverse event.

Conclusion

Elbasvir/grazoprevir administered for 12 weeks is an effective and generally well‐tolerated treatment option for Asian individuals with hepatitis C virus genotype 1b infection.
Dysregulation of collagen expression in peri‐implantation endometrium of women with high ovarian response
Authors: Li Mingyang , Yao Lihua , Xin Meizhen , Gao Minzhi
Published: February 2019

Aim

To analyze the effects of high ovarian response on endometrial collagen synthesis and related gene expression during the peri‐implantation period in patients undergoing in vitro fertilization‐embryo transfer.

Methods

Peripheral blood and endometrial biopsies were obtained from infertile women on day 6 after oocytes retrieval or ovulation in 16 stimulated cycles (SC) and 16 natural cycles (NC) respectively. Serum estrogen (E2), progesterone (P4), histological staging, endometrial collagen, matrix metalloproteinases (MMP2, 9) and tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases (TIMP1, 3) were assayed.

Results

Serum levels of both E2 and P4 were significantly higher in the SC group than those in the NC group. All endometrial samples were in the secretory phase. The collagen in the stroma of the SC group was more dense and higher than that in the NC group. MMP2 and MMP9 were detected significantly lower in the SC group than those in the NC group, while TIMP1 and TIMP3 were significantly higher. MMP2, 9 expressions are increased by estrogen and reduced by progesterone in dose‐dependent manner through estrogen receptor and progesterone receptor. Correspondingly, TIMP1, 3 expressions decreased by estrogen dose‐dependently while progesterone played the opposite role.

Conclusion

High levels of P4 could stimulate excessive synthesis of collagen in peri‐implantation endometrium of women with high ovarian response, and the mechanisms may be related to the decrease of MMP2, 9 and the increase of TIMP1, 3 through P4 receptor.
Birds Behaving Badly: The Regulation of Seagulls and the Construction of Public Space
Authors: Trotter Sarah
Published: February 2019

This article is about the socio‐legal construction of one of the least‐loved birds in the United Kingdom: the ‘seagull'. In particular, it is about how the gull has been brought within the realm of the ‘anti‐social', in a context in which urban‐nesting gulls (of which there are many in the United Kingdom) are cast as causing a great deal of public nuisance, ranging from noise, aggression, and mess, to attacks, injuries, and stress. The article examines the measures adopted by local authorities to regulate the gull population – and to regulate people, in the name of regulating gulls – and shows how a construction of the ‘seagull’ underpins and justifies this regulatory framework. It argues that the story of the regulation of seagulls in the United Kingdom is also a story about the construction of public space, to the point that the measures adopted here challenge the very idea of public space.
Of Bodies and Burkinis: Institutional Islamophobia, Islamic Dress, and the Colonial Condition
Authors: Brayson Kimberley
Published: February 2019

The 2016 burkini controversy and the criminalization of visibly Muslim women in France is a violent reminder of the precarity of colonial bodies in public space. These laws demonstrate the ongoing management of colonial bodies and communities which speaks over time from historical colonization to present, and future, neocolonial narratives. This article moves beyond the dominant logics of security and gender oppression in the Islamic dress debate which, it is argued, are invoked in a strategic manner to obfuscate the colonial condition and engender a normative, institutional Islamophobia in the public‐political imaginary. It critiques the instrumental use of law in creating political space for such agendas and analyses the whiteness of public space and institutions. The article insists that it is necessary to acknowledge the epistemic lens of the colonial condition in the Islamic dress debate and critically reflects on the alienation and reduced capacity for action of bodies wearing Islamic dress.
Excellence‐Prior Eudaimonism
Authors: Herdt Jennifer A.
Published: February 2019

Eudaimonism is often regarded as egoistic. If it recommends that agents pursue their own good because it is their own good, it is guilty as charged. But excellence‐prior eudaimonism offers a non‐egoistic alternative to this welfare‐prior eudaimonism. Excellence‐prior eudaimonism recommends that an agent live in a way that is in fact good for the agent, but it does not regard the agent’s own good as necessarily that for the sake of which the agent acts, nor does it regard living well as justified by the fact that it is good for the agent, but simply because it is good. The Christian eudaimonisms of Augustine and Aquinas are best understood as deepened forms of excellence‐prior eudaimonism.
Witnessing Whiteness in the Ethics of Hauerwas
Authors: Norris Kristopher
Published: February 2019

Despite constituting one of the most pressing ethical issues of our time, most white Christian ethicists and theologians fail to engage the issue of white supremacy in their work. As one of the most influential and prolific Christian ethicists of the past half‐century, Stanley Hauerwas represents this tendency, and provides specific reasons for his silence. This essay analyzes those reasons, and argues that a commitment to Alasdair MacIntyre’s understandings of tradition and narrative frames his view on race and prevents his engagement of racism. It then highlights the ways this reflects the broader trends of silence, abstraction, and colorblindness among white Christian ethicists when it comes to the issue. Identifying these failures, the essay concludes by suggesting that Hauerwas’s first published essay in 1969, on Black Power, provides resources for theologically engaging the problems of white supremacy today.
The Cultural Turn: Empirical Studies and their Implications
Authors: Moret Ross
Published: February 2019

This essay uses empirical studies to engage Richard Miller’s advocacy of a “cultural turn” in the study of religious ethics found in Friends and Other Strangers. The particular kind of empirical research I highlight here, cultural cognition, emphasizes the ways that belonging to a cultural group influences one’s reasoning when faced with controversial issues involving disputed facts. This approach underscores the significance of the cultural turn, but it also raises some important challenges for Miller’s accounts of moral psychology and public reason. I work to elucidate what those challenges are and point to some ways that taking cultural cognition seriously might open up fresh avenues for addressing perennial ethical issues.
“You are your only limit”: Appropriations and valorizations of affect in university branding
Authors: Ng Carl Jon Way
Published: February 2019

This article considers the role of affect in university branding in a context of neoliberal higher education, by way of examining the semiotic landscape of the Singapore Management University concourse. Contemporary branding often involves stimulating stakeholder/audience investments of meaning and affect into the brand, thereby appropriating consumers’ affective labour for brand‐building and communications. Adopting a discourse‐analytic approach, I examine how linguistic, visual and spatial modalities are utilized to evoke and semiotize particular affective meanings and orientations in the emplaced discourse within the university's brand space. This discourse, which includes organizational branding discourse as well as more organic student‐generated texts, becomes part of the affective regime, helping to encourage and enjoin what is deemed to be normative affective sensibilities and practices in that context. Consequently, the article also considers the kinds of affective subjectivities that are valorized, and how stakeholder/student‐subjects are interpellated in a context of neoliberal‐oriented higher education.
The association of indoxyl sulfate with fibroblast growth factor‐23 in cats with chronic kidney disease
Authors: Liao Yu‐Lun , Chou Chi‐Chung , Lee Ya‐Jane
Published: February 2019

Background

Indoxyl sulfate (IS) has been reported not only to increase with the severity of impaired renal function, but also possibly to be a factor associated with bone abnormalities linked to fibroblast growth factor‐23 (FGF‐23) in humans with chronic kidney disease (CKD). It is not yet known whether this correlation between IS and FGF‐23 holds true for cats with CKD.

Hypothesis

Accumulation of IS is related to FGF‐23 secretion in cats with CKD.

Animals

Twenty clinically healthy cats and 73 cats with CKD cases were evaluated retrospectively.

Methods

The concentrations of IS and FGF‐23 in plasma were determined by high‐performance liquid chromatography and ELISA, respectively. Progression was defined as an increment of 0.5 mg/dL of serum creatinine concentration within 3 months.

Results

Plasma IS and FGF‐23 concentrations were significantly increased concurrently with decreasing renal function. Higher concentration of FGF‐23 was significantly associated with higher concentration of IS after adjusting for various confounding factors including creatinine and phosphate. Furthermore, the correlation between IS and phosphate was higher than that between FGF‐23 and phosphate. When the renal progression group was compared with the non‐progression group, both IS and FGF‐23 were found to be significantly increased (P < .05). In addition, the area under receiver operator curve of the combination of IS and FGF‐23 predicted renal progression at a level >0.9.

Conclusions and Clinical Importance

Both FGF‐23 and IS are associated with phosphate metabolism and CKD progression.
Reclassification of four aubrites as enstatite chondrite impact melts: Potential geochemical analogs for Mercury
Authors: Udry Arya , Wilbur Zoë E. , Rahib Rachel R. , McCubbin Francis M. , Vander Kaaden Kathleen E. , McCoy Timothy J. , Ziegler Karen , Gross Juliane , DeFelice Christopher , Combs Logan , Turrin Brent D.
Published: February 2019

We present petrologic and isotopic data on Northwest Africa (NWA) 4799,NWA7809,NWA7214, andNWA11071 meteorites, which were previously classified as aubrites. These four meteorites contain between 31 and 56 vol% of equigranular, nearly endmember enstatite, Fe,Ni metal, plagioclase, terrestrial alteration products, and sulfides, such as troilite, niningerite, daubréelite, oldhamite, and caswellsilverite. The equigranular texture of the enstatite and the presence of the metal surrounding enstatite indicate that these rocks were not formed through igneous processes like the aubrites, but rather by impact processes. In addition, the presence of pre‐terrestrially weathered metal (7.1–14 vol%), undifferentiated modal abundances compared to enstatite chondrites, presence of graphite, absence of diopside and forsterite, low Ti in troilite, and high Si in Fe,Ni metals suggest that these rocks formed through impact melting on chondritic and not aubritic parent bodies. Formation of these meteorites on a parent body with similar properties to theEHa enstatite chondrite parent body is suggested by their mineralogy. These parent bodies have undergone impact events from at least 4.5 Ga (NWA 11071) until at least 4.2 Ga (NWA 4799) according to39Ar‐40Ar ages, indicating that this region of the solar system was heavily bombarded early in its history. By comparingNWAenstatite chondrite impact melts to Mercury, we infer that they represent imperfect petrological analogs to this planet given their high metal abundances, but they could represent important geochemical analogs for the behavior and geochemical affinities of elements on Mercury. Furthermore, the enstatite chondrite impact melts represent an important petrological analog for understanding high‐temperature processes and impact processes on Mercury, due to their similar mineralogies, Fe‐metal‐rich and FeO‐poor silicate abundances, and low oxygen fugacity.
Through another lens: the humanities and social sciences in the making of physicians
Authors: Jones Elizabeth K , Kumagai Arno K , Kittendorf Anne L
Published: February 2019

The authors reflect on how diversity in medical school applicants, including background in the humanities, may create a robust skill set applicable to medical care in non‐traditional yet important ways.
Identifying coaching skills to improve feedback use in postgraduate medical education
Authors: Armson Heather , Lockyer Jocelyn M , Zetkulic Marygrace , Könings Karen D , Sargeant Joan
Published: February 2019

Objectives

Coaching in medical education has recently gained prominence, but minimal attention has been given to key skills and determining how they work to effectively ensure residents are progressing and developing self‐assessment skills. This study examined process‐oriented and content‐oriented coaching skills used in coaching sessions, with particular attention to how supervisors use them to enhance resident acceptance of feedback to enhance learning.

Methods

This qualitative study analysed secondary audiotaped data from 15 supervisors: resident dyads during two feedback sessions, 4 months apart. The R2C2 model was used to engage the resident, build a relationship, explore reactions to feedback, explore resident perceptions of content, and coach for change. Framework analysis was used, including familiarisation with the data, identifying the thematic framework, indexing and charting the data and mapping and interpretation.

Results

Process skills included preparation, relationship development, using micro communication skills and techniques to promote reflection and self‐assessment by the resident and supervisor flexibility. Content skills related to the specific feedback content included engaging the resident in discussion, ensuring the discussion was collaborative and focused on goal setting, co‐developing a Learning Change Plan, ensuring resident commitment and following up on the plan. Together, these skills foster agency in the resident learner. Three overarching themes emerged from the analysis: the interconnectedness of process and content; tensions between encouraging self‐direction and ensuring progress and competence; and balancing a coaching dialogue and a teaching monologue.

Conclusions

Effective coaching by supervisors requires a combination of specific process and content skills that are chosen depending on the needs of the individual resident. Mastering these skills helps residents engage and develop agency in their own professional development. These outcomes depend on faculty maintaining a balance between coaching and teaching, encouraging resident self‐direction and ensuring progression to competence.
Insecticide susceptibility status and major detoxifying enzymes activity in Anopheles subpictus from Kasur, Pakistan
Authors: Naeem H. , Oneeb M. , Ashraf K. , Rashid M. I. , Nazir M. M. , Tabassum S.
Published: February 2019

Anopheles subpictus s.l. Grassi (Diptera: Culicidae) is a malaria vector in South Asia, where insecticides are the mainstay for vector control interventions. Information on any variation in metabolic enzyme levels in mosquitoes is helpful with respect to adapting alternative strategies for vector control. The scarce data on the biochemical basis of insecticide resistance in malaria vectors of Pakistan limit the available information for vector control interventions within the country. The insecticide susceptibility status and its biochemical basis against dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) (4%), deltamethrin (0.05%) and permethrin (0.75%) in An. subpictus s.l. collected from all Tehsils of district Kasur were evaluated. For this purpose, a World Health Organization susceptibility bioassay was performed followed by the detection of altered metabolic enzyme activity using biochemical assays. Similarly, a significant difference in knock‐down effect was observed among field collected and susceptible strain against all insecticides 24 h post exposure. The overall mean mortality rates of DDT, deltamethrin and permethrin were 27.86% [95% confidence interval (CI) = 29.65–26.06], 44.89% (95% CI = 46.23–43.54) and 78.82% (95% CI = 80.16–77.47), respectively. The biochemical assays revealed an elevated level of metabolic enzymes in the field population. The results provide evidence of resistance against organochlorine and pyrethroid groups in a field population of An. subpictus s.l. from district Kasur mediated by multiple metabolic mechanisms, including acetylcholinesterases, esterases, cytochrome P450 and glutathione S‐transferases.
Healthcare utilization in patients with first‐time implantable cardioverter defibrillators (data from the WEBCARE study)
Authors: Broers Eva R. , Lodder Paul , Spek Viola R.M. , Widdershoven Jos W.M.G. , Pedersen Susanne S. , Habibović Mirela
Published: February 2019

Background

Knowledge of the level of healthcare utilization (HCU) and the predictors of high HCU use in patients with an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) is lacking. We examined the level of HCU and predictors associated with increased HCU in first‐time ICD patients, using a prospective study design.

Methods

ICD patients (N = 201) completed a set of questionnaires at baseline and 3, 6, and 12 months after inclusion. A hierarchical multiple linear regression with three models was performed to examine predictors of HCU.

Results

HCU was highest between baseline and 3 months postimplantation and gradually decreased during 12 months follow‐up. During the first year postimplantation, only depression (β = 0.342, P = 0.002) was a significant predictor. Between baseline and 3 months follow‐up, younger age (β = −0.220, P < 0.01), New York Heart Association class III/IV (β = 0.705, P = 0.01), and secondary indication (β = 0.148, P = 0.05) were independent predictors for increased HCU. Between 3 and 6 months follow‐up, younger age (β = −0.151, P = 0.05) and depression (β = 0.370, P < 0.001) predicted increased HCU. Between 6 and 12 months only depression (β = 0.355, P = 0.001) remained a significant predictor.

Conclusions

Depression was an important predictor of increased HCU in ICD patients in the first year postimplantation, particularly after 3 months postimplantation. Identifying patients who need additional care and provide this on time might better meet patients’ needs and lower future HCU.