bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Humour Discourse in Internet Memes: An Aid in ESL Classrooms
Authors: Harshavardhan Vignesh , David Wilson D  , Kumar Mallika Vijaya
Published: May 2019

In the ever-changing classroom dynamics of the twenty-first century, teaching needs to be innovative in order to be effective. The youth of the present age are members of virtual societies communicating mostly through the digital medium. This digital communication has its effects on the traditional classroom lectures. There has been a marked decline in basic language skills. Learners are less attentive and need more motivation. Interactive method of teaching is the best method of teaching language. But for this, the learners have to participate in the classroom and contribute something of their own. Learners have to be taught in a method that interests them and makes the language taught to them relevant in context. There is a need to incorporate digital communicative medium inside the language classroom in an enterprising and novel way while maintaining a low affective filter. For this, teachers have to adopt a systematic approach to digital technology. They need to be more versatile and integrate digital information in their daily lesson plans and the classroom activities. This research proposes one such digital age teaching procedure wherein internet memes are used to teach English. Internet memes provide humour and reduce anxiety. They can make the learners attentive and relate to the language learning process.
Monogamous Mind, Polyamorous Terror
Authors: Vasallo Brigitte
Published: May 2019

Monogamy is not a practice, but a system and a way of thinking. The monogamous mind extends from our romantic relationships with our national identities in a historic development linked to capitalism and colonialism. Monogamy is the latest step in the binary sex-gender system and must be observed as a part of it. Following the works of, among others, Michel Foucault, Arthur Evans, and Silvia Federici, as well as Frantz Fanon and Cedric Rodinson in colonialism, we can observe how the implementation of compulsory monogamy took place and where. Also, which are the key points to observe when we analyse forms of non-monogamy in the Occidental context.
Reducing uncertainty in orthodontic treatment: The wheel keeps turning
Authors: O’Brien Kevin
Published: May 2019

In this short paper, I will outline the issue of uncertainty in orthodontic treatment and the dilemma that we face in interpreting rapidly changing information.
Leitkultur debates as civic integration in North-Western Europe: The nationalism of ‘values’ and ‘good citizenship’
Authors: Mouritsen Per , Faas Daniel , Meer Nasar , Witte Nynke de
Published: May 2019

Political responses to ethno-religious diversity often include the idea of a common culture or (core) values, e.g., the German Leitkultur and comparable concepts in Denmark and the Netherlands. These intellectual debates underlie and inform different types of civic integration policies. Their structure demonstrates the discursive connection between the ostensibly liberal and universal components of the latter – which are often heralded as signs of waning nationalism – with strong emphases on identity and cultural identity. Hence, each debate concerns (1) forms of societal integration, oriented towards (2) forms of civicness, which are nonetheless (3) also cultural, and (4) national. Within this common structure, variation exists as to what should be ‘common,’ what it takes to share it, and the very point of doing so. Advocacy of Leitkultur as so many attempts to civilise newcomers – or exclude those who are unamenable to such efforts – reflects the continuing core of nationalistic ambition despite novel semantic content. This ambition, which equivocates between dubious ‘manifest’ functions – educating minorities, reminding majorities of forgotten heritage – fails also to serve ‘latent’ functions of trust and solidarity building.
Candesartan in a rat model of testicular toxicity: New insight on its protective mechanism
Authors: Sherif Iman O , Sarhan Osama M
Published: May 2019

Cisplatin (CDDP) is widely used as an effective chemotherapy; nevertheless, its use is associated with male reproductive system damage. Candesartan (Cand) is an angiotensin II receptor blocker which showed a protective effect against CDDP-induced testicular toxicity. This study was implemented to investigate further novel molecular protective effect of Cand. Animals were divided into four groups and treated for 10 days as: Group I (Normal control): received saline, Group II (Cand control): treated with Cand (10 mg/kg/day) orally, Group III (CDDP): injected with a single dose of 10 mg/kg CDDP intraperitoneally (ip), Group IV (Cand + CDDP): treated with Cand (10 mg/kg/day) orally plus a single ip dose of 10 mg/kg CDDP at day 3. Blood and testicular tissue collections were done at the end of the experiment. A marked decrease in testicular, body, and relative body weights in addition to testosterone level was observed in the CDDP group when compared with normal rats. In addition, exposure to CDDP showed a marked upregulation of testicular TNF-α mRNA level and a significant rise in testicular levels of total oxidant status, oxidative stress index (OSI) ratio, pro-apoptotic protein Bax, Bax/Bcl-2 ratio alongside with a marked reduction in testicular levels of total antioxidant status, antiapoptotic protein Bcl-2, and a significant upregulation of the testicular caspase-3 expression in comparison to normal group. Histopathological findings after CDDP injection showed apoptosis and necrosis in testicular tissues. Administration of Cand ameliorated these biochemical and histopathological findings. Cand exhibited a novel protective mechanism against CDDP induced-gonadal damage via antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-apoptotic activities.

Impact statement

Cisplatin is a commonly used drug in the treatment of solid tumors and its application is associated with testicular toxicity. The effect of candesartan in cisplatin-induced testicular toxicity and its fundamental mechanism of action were investigated. Candesartan had certainly repaired the testicular injury and ameliorated both biochemical and histopathological changes. Candesartan mitigated the gonadotoxicity induced by cisplatin via antioxidative, anti-inflammatory, and antiapoptotic actions.
iTRAQ-based proteomics reveals SOD2 as a potential salivary biomarker in liver cancer
Authors: Ding Feng , Sun Kehuan , Sun Ningning , Jiang Qianqian , Cao Meiqun , Wu Zhengzhi
Published: May 2019

Background:

Salivary proteomic analysis has been extensively used in a wide range of cancer, but not in hepatocellular carcinoma. The aim of this study was to identify potential salivary biomarkers for hepatocellular carcinoma clinical screening.

Methods:

In this study, we performed isobaric tags for relative and absolute quantitation (iTRAQ)-based quantitative proteomics analysis to detect differentially expressed proteins between saliva samples from 15 hepatocellular carcinoma patients and 15 healthy controls. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) verification was undertaken in saliva samples from 14 hepatocellular carcinoma patients and 14 healthy controls.

Results:

Overall, 133 proteins with significant differential expression level (ratio > 1.5 or < 0.67) were detected. Using bioinformatic analysis, two candidate proteins were selected and subsequently verified by ELISA. The increased expression of superoxide dismutase 2, mitochondrial (SOD2) in hepatocellular carcinoma patients was confirmed by ELISA, with an area under the curve value of 0.9082.

Conclusions:

iTRAQ-based quantitative proteomics revealed that SOD2 might serve as a potential salivary biomarker for hepatocellular carcinoma detection. Our results indicated that a noninvasive and inexpensive salivary test might be established for hepatocellular carcinoma detection.
Effect of catechol-O-methyltransferase (rs4680) single-nucleotide polymorphism on opioid-induced hyperalgesia in adults with chronic pain
Authors: Hooten W Michael , Hu Danqing , Cunningham Julie M , Black John L
Published: May 2019

The catechol-O-methyltransferase Val158Met polymorphism has been associated with alterations in pain perception, but the influence of the polymorphism on pain perception in patients with chronic pain receiving daily opioid therapy has not been previously reported. The primary aim of this study was to investigate the effects of the catechol-O-methyltransferase Val158Met polymorphism on heat pain perception in a cohort of adults receiving daily opioid therapy for chronic pain. Adults with chronic pain consecutively admitted to an outpatient pain rehabilitation program who met inclusion criteria and were receiving daily opioid therapy were recruited for study participation (N = 142). Individuals were genotyped for catechol-O-methyltransferase Val158Met (rs4680), and the polymorphism was analyzed using an additive and codominant genotype models. The distribution of the Val158Met genotypes was 25% for Val/Val, 41% for Val/Met and 34% for Met/Met (Hardy–Weinberg, P > 0.05). A main effect of genotype was observed for heat pain perception ( P = 0.028). Under the codominant model of allele effects, exploratory post hoc pairwise comparisons adjusted for morphine equivalent dose and pain catastrophizing demonstrated that individuals with the Val/Met genotype were hyperalgesic compared to individuals with the Val/Val ( P = 0.039) and Met/Met ( P = 0.023) genotypes. No significant association was observed between heat pain perception and genotype under the additive model of allele effects. Among patients with chronic pain who were receiving daily opioids, the Val/Met genotype was associated with hyperalgesia using a measure of heat pain perception that has been previously indicative of opioid-induced hyperalgesia in other heterogeneous samples of adults with chronic pain. This study contributes to the emerging understanding of how catechol-O-methyltransferase activity affects pain perception in the context of daily opioid use, and these findings may be useful in the design of future trials aimed at investigating the potential efficacy of ß-2 adrenergic receptor antagonism for opioid-induced hyperalgesia.
Central slip extensor tendon injuries: a systematic review of treatments
Authors: Geoghegan Luke , Wormald Justin Conrad Rosen , Adami Raina Zarb , Rodrigues Jeremy N.
Published: May 2019

This systematic review describes and compares outcomes of operative and non-operative management of central slip extensor tendon injuries. A PRISMA-compliant methodology identified 3785 studies. Of these, 29 underwent full text review. No randomized controlled trials were identified. Nine studies evaluated treatment modalities specific to cohorts with acute central slip injuries in adults. A range of operative and non-operative elements of management was identified although no studies directly compared the two. Where aspects of rehabilitation were studied, this was always after surgery. The evidence base regarding treatment of central slip injury is limited and the roles of different treatment strategies for open as well as closed injuries are not well-supported by evidence.
Pregnancy outcome in women with an uncorrected single ventricle: A single-centre experience from South India
Authors: Keepanasseril Anish , Raj Ashwini , Pillai Ajith Ananthakrishna , Baghel Jyoti , Plakkal Nishad , Satheesh Santhosh
Published: May 2019

Background

Women with an uncorrected single ventricle heart are at increased risk of adverse maternal and perinatal outcomes.

Methods

We report our experience of managing pregnant women with uncorrected single ventricles, during the time period 2011 to 2017, in a low-resource setting and compare pregnancy outcome with healthy concurrent controls. Outcomes assessed include the mode of delivery, maternal complications, neonatal death and birth weight.

Results

There were six pregnant women with uncorrected single ventricles who had a total of 14 pregnancies. There was one maternal death in a woman with atrioventricular-septal defect and Eisenmenger syndrome. Caesarean section rates and preterm delivery were similar, whereas perinatal loss and low-birth weight rates were higher among women with a single ventricle compared to healthy controls.

Conclusion

Unplanned pregnancies without prenatal counselling/care pose a challenge to physicians especially in low to middle income countries and with the high risk of morbidity/mortality, pregnancy should be discouraged.
Does Meaning Motivate Magical Thinking Among Theists and Atheists?
Authors: Nelson Taylor A. , Abeyta Andrew A. , Routledge Clay
Published: May 2019

Past research indicates that existential threats related to meaning in life increase religious-related magical beliefs (e.g., belief in God). The present three studies examined more broadly whether threatened meaning influences magical ideation and beliefs among atheists and theists. Amazon Mechanical Turk ( N = 1,454) and student participants ( N = 50) were randomly assigned to a meaning threat or control condition and then completed measures of magical ideation and beliefs. Across three studies ( N = 1,504), we did not find experimental evidence that threatened meaning increases magical ideation and beliefs. However, in Study 3, we also examined the link between the meaning motive and magical ideation and beliefs using an individual difference approach and found that the need for meaning was a significant predictor of magical ideation and beliefs, particularly among atheists.
What kills us and what moves us: A comparative discourse analysis of heart disease and breast cancer
Authors: O’Hanlon Claire E
Published: May 2019

Introduction

Heart disease kills nearly 300,000 US women annually, while approximately 40,000 US women die of breast cancer. Breast cancer online patient communities are well known for their high engagement and emotional support. This exploratory study compared social media discourse on breast cancer with discourse related to heart disease.

Methods

Computer-assisted text analysis of two corpora composed of Twitter posts using #BreastCancer and #HeartDisease hashtags from December 2013 to December 2014. Lexical analysis (word and hashtag level) used AntConc software and lexicogrammatical analysis (style and stance) was conducted with DocuScope.

Results

The #BreastCancer corpus consisted of 592,046 posts, 57% of which were not original to the user (retweets). #HeartDisease had 269,769 posts (13% retweets). Social media discourse about #BreastCancer and #HeartDisease drew attention to women, new developments, appeals for help and disease risks. The #BreastCancer corpus incorporates gendered language and associations with art and activism, while posts about #HeartDisease were discussed scientifically in concert with other diseases. The #BreastCancer corpus uniquely included community-specific initialism hashtags. Stance analysis of the #BreastCancer corpus revealed more socially oriented posts, marked by language of constructive reasoning, inclusive language and abstract thought, while #HeartDisease corpus posts were more scholarly, used contingent and oppositional reasoning, language from institutional and academic registers, citations and meta-discourse.

Conclusion

The #HeartDisease social media community is less engaged, and content is less specific to both the disease and individual experience than #BreastCancer. Cultivating a women-focused heart disease online community might replicate some of the #BreastCancer community’s successes.
Effects of remote ischemic preconditioning on astrocyte proliferation and glial scars after cerebral infarction
Authors: Liu Shi-Min , Cao Xian-Min , Qu Xin-Hui , Cai Wen , Hu Fan , Cao Wen-Feng , Wu Lin-Feng , Wu Xiao-Mu
Published: May 2019

The aim of this study was to investigate whether remote ischemic preconditioning (RIPC) can promote neurological function recovery after middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) in rats and its possible mechanism. A total of 32 Sprague Dawley (SD) rats were randomly divided into RIPC group (n = 16) and MCAO group (n = 16). In the RIPC group, 1 h before induction of MCAO, the rats received bilateral femoral artery ischemic preconditioning (10 min/time), followed by 10 min of relaxation, and a total of three cycles were carried out. Then, the MCAO-2h model was established. In the MCAO group, the MCAO-2h model was established at 1 h after the separation of bilateral femoral arteries. The modified neurological severity score (mNSS) was assessed. At postmodeling day 7, triphenyltetrazolium chloride (TTC) staining and immunohistochemistry were conducted, and neurological function recovery, infarct size, and the expression levels of glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), synaptophysin (SYN), and neurite outgrowth inhibitor A (Nogo-A) were observed. At postmodeling day 7, the difference in mNSS was statistically significant ( P < 0.05). Infarct size was significantly smaller in the RIPC group than in the MCAO group ( P < 0.05). The number of GFAP+ cells was significantly lesser in the RIPC group than in the MCAO group ( P < 0.05). The difference in thickness of the glial scar was not statistically significant ( P = 0.091). At postmodeling day 7, the expression level of SYN integrated optical density (IOD) was significantly higher in the RIPC group than in the MCAO group ( P < 0.05). The number of Nogo-A+ cells was significantly lesser in the RIPC group than in the MCAO group ( P < 0.05). At day 7 after MCAO, RIPC can promote neurological function recovery in rats and reduce infarct size. The mechanism may be that after 7 days, RIPC reduces GFAP expression, inhibits the trend of glial scar formation and Nogo-A expression, and increases SYN expression.
The clinical evaluation of combined detection of microcirculation, lipid metabolism, and inflammatory-related factors in the treatment of diabetic nephropathy with atorvastatin
Authors: Wang Haicheng , Zhang Zhengfang , Sun Jiali
Published: May 2019

This study was designed to analyze the effects of atorvastatin on microcirculation, blood lipids, inflammatory factors, and characteristic markers in patients with diabetic nephropathy. A total of 170 patients with diabetic nephropathy randomly divided into control and study groups with 85 patients in each group. The control group was treated with diet and lifestyle intervention, and hypoglycemic drugs. The study group was additionally treated with atorvastatin. Nitric oxide (NO), endothelin-1 (ET-1), thromboxane-2 (TXB2), 6-ketone-prostaglandin F-1α (6-Keto-PGF-1α), superoxide dismutase (SOD), total cholesterol (TC), triacylglycerols (TGs), low-density lipoprotein (LDL), high-density lipoprotein (HDL), C-reactive protein (CRP), tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), interleukin-6 (IL-6), homocysteine (Hcy), cystatin C (CysC), and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) levels were observed for 8 weeks. Post-treatment of atorvastatin, the levels of NO, 6-Keto-PGF-1α, and SOD were significantly higher than pre-treatment in both groups, while the levels of ET-1 and TXB2 were lower than pre-treatment ( P < 0.05). The levels of NO, 6-Keto-PGF-1α, and SOD in the study group post-treatment were significantly higher ( P < 0.05) than the control group, and the levels of ET-1 and TXB2 in the study group were lower than the control group. After 8 weeks, the levels of TC, TG, and LDL were significantly lower, while the level of HDL was significantly higher in the study group. The level of TC was lower in the control group of post-treatment, while the HDL level was higher than pre-treatment ( P < 0.05). The levels of CRP, TNF-α, and IL-6 in the study group of post-treatment were significantly lower than pre-treatment comparing to the control group ( P < 0.05). There was no statistical significance ( P > 0.05) for above-mentioned indicators in control groups of pre- and post-treatment. The levels of VEGF, CysC, and Hcy in the two groups were lower than pre-treatment. Atorvastatin could effectively improve all the study parameters.
Utilization of Overnight Pulse Oximetry in Fibromyalgia Patients
Authors: Clark Stephanie D , Salonen Bradley R , Reddy BS Neha V , Mohabbat Arya B
Published: May 2019

Objective

To assess whether the Berlin Sleep Questionnaire and the Snoring, Tired, Observed, Pressure, Body mass, Age, Neck, and Gender questionnaire (STOP-BANG) might be suitable replacements for an overnight sleep pulse oximetry as screening tools for sleep disordered breathing in patients with fibromyalgia. Participants: From June 8, 2018 through July 25, 2018, adult patients with a confirmed diagnosis of fibromyalgia (via the 1990 and/or 2010 American College of Rheumatology Fibromyalgia Classification Criteria) who attended Mayo Clinic’s Fibromyalgia Treatment Program were invited to participate in the study. Methods: The design was a prospective comparative study with a retrospective chart review component. Participants completed 2 validated surveys: the Berlin Sleep Questionnaire and the STOP-BANG. Medical records were reviewed for demographic information and overnight pulse oximetry test results. Results: Results from both questionnaires indicate that there is an association between sleep apnea risk category (defined by questionnaire) and oximetry results. Fisher’s exact test for STOP-BANG and Berlin Sleep Questionnaire are statistically significant ( P < .001), indicating that participants at high risk for sleep apnea (based on the questionnaires) had a greater prevalence of abnormal oximetry results than those at low risk for sleep apnea. Participants who were classified as high risk (85.7%) or intermediate risk (61.5%) on the STOP-BANG questionnaire for sleep apnea had abnormal oximetry results. Participants who scored as high risk (85.7%) for sleep apnea on the Berlin Sleep Questionnaire had abnormal oximetry results. Conclusions: In patients with fibromyalgia, the Berlin Sleep Questionnaire and the STOP-BANG questionnaires could be beneficial in determining the probability of obstructive sleep apnea and the subsequent need for pulse oximetry testing, in higher risk patients.
Perverse Effects of Non-sterilized Interventions on Spot Foreign Exchange Rates
Authors: Saglam Ismail
Published: May 2019

We study the effects of non-sterilized intervention on a spot foreign exchange (forex) rate using a multi-period game-theoretical model which involves an unspeciﬁed number of competitive traders, a ﬁnite number of strategic traders (forex dealers) with heterogenous initial money balances, and the central bank of the home country. Simulating the subgame-perfect Nash equilibrium of the two-stage game played by the forex dealers in each period, we show that the non-sterilized intervention of the central bank may lead to a perverse effect on the spot forex rate. We call the mechanism underlying this effect strategic trade switching channel that works when an increase in the central bank’s forex currency demand (supply) exerts such a big upward (downward) effect on the forex rate that some sufficiently big dealers, who optimally bought (sold) forex currency in the previous period when the forex rate was sufficiently low, ﬁnd in the current period selling (buying) it more proﬁtable, thus moving the forex rate in a direction undesired by the central bank.

JEL Classiﬁcation: D43, F31, G20
Point-of-Encounter Assessment: Using Health Belief Model Constructs to Change Grading Behaviors
Authors: McLean Susan F , Francis Maureen , Lacy Naomi L , Alvarado Andres
Published: May 2019

Objective:

Fourth-year medical students need feedback to improve. Even during 1-month rotations, there needs to be a formal mid-clerkship feedback session. Better feedback involves multiple surgical evaluators at multiple levels. Constructs from the Health Belief Model of behavior change were used to assess faculty and resident grading behaviors to create a more usable evaluation system. A point-of-encounter (POE) system was created. The objective of this study was to review the efficacy of a POE clinical evaluation card (CEC) system which was initiated to increase evaluator’s participation in grading and formative feedback prior to mid-clerkship evaluation.

Design:

The study was a 1-year retrospective cohort study reviewing the CECs for level of evaluator, content, and student compliance. A Likert-type scale survey regarding the usage of the clinical cards was also completed by evaluators.

Setting:

Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center at El Paso, during 2 fourth-year medical student rotations, Subinternship (Sub-I), and Surgical Intensive Care Unit (SICU).

Participants:

34 fourth-year medical students and 20 evaluators.

Results:

Students turned in a mean of 10 cards, 75% in SICU and 65% in Sub-I turned in all 10 cards. There were significantly greater advanced residents evaluating during Sub-I vs SICU: mean evals by PGY3 were 1.9 vs 0.75 ( p = .01) and mean evals by PGY5 were 1.4 vs 0.1 ( p < .0001). There were significantly more faculty completing evaluations during SICU vs Sub-I: 2.5 faculty evals/student vs 1.4 faculty evals/student ( p = .023). Evaluator ratings were high on a 5-point Likert-type scale, with most responses near the “strongly agree” rating of 4.7 to 4.8.

Conclusions:

Use of POE CECs met goals of having at least 7 CECs turned in by mid-clerkship and 10 at end-clerkships. Formative evaluations by mid-clerkship went from 0 to 7 evaluations. Evaluator surveys highlighted clarity and efficiency as reasons for using CECs.
Associations of built environment attributes with bicycle use for transport
Authors: Koohsari Mohammad Javad , Cole Rachel , Oka Koichiro , Shibata Ai , Yasunaga Akitomo , Hanibuchi Tomoya , Owen Neville , Sugiyama Takemi
Published: May 2019

An increasing number of studies have examined neighbourhood built environment attributes associated with cycling. Some of them suggest non-linear relationships between built environment attributes and cycling. This study examined the strength and shape of associations of cycling for transport with objectively measured built environment attributes. Data were from 9146 Australian adults who took part in the 2009 South-East Queensland Travel Survey. Participants (aged 18–64 years) completed a 24-hour travel survey, in which they reported modes of travel. Residential density, Walk Score and a Space Syntax measure of street integration were calculated at a neighbourhood level using geographic information systems. Multilevel logistic regression analyses examined associations of bicycle use with each built environment attribute, which was modelled continuously and categorically. All continuous measures of the built environment attributes were associated with bicycle use. Each one-decile increment in residential density, Walk Score, and street integration was associated with 13%, 16%, and 10% higher odds of bicycle use, respectively. However, the associations appeared to be non-linear, with significant odds ratios observed only for the higher categories of each built environment attribute relative to the middle category. This study found that adults living in high-density neighbourhoods with more destinations nearby and well-connected streets were more likely to cycle for transport. However, medium-level density, access to destinations and street connectivity may not be enough to facilitate bicycle use. Further studies are needed to investigate urban design threshold values above which cycling can be promoted.
Ultrasonography (US) in the assessment of pediatric non traumatic gastrointestinal emergencies
Authors: Fonio Paolo , Coppolino Francesco , Russo Anna , D’Andrea Alfredo , Giannattasio Antonella , Reginelli Alfonso , Grassi Roberto , Genovese Eugenio Annibale
Published: May 2019

Background

Non traumatic gastrointestinal emergencies in the children and neonatal patient is a dilemma for the radiologist in the emergencies room and they presenting characteristics ultrasound features on the longitudinal and axial axis. The most frequent emergencies are : appendicitis, intussusceptions, hypertrophic pyloric stenosis, volvulus due to intestinal malrotation. The aim of this article is to familiarize the reader with the US features.

Methods

A retrospective analysis of 200 ultrasound examinations performed in neonatal and children patients with fever, abdominal pain, leukocytosis, vomiting and diarrhea were evaluated.

Results

Of 200 exame 50 cases of intussusceptions, 100 cases of appendicitis, 20 cases associated with abscess;10 gangrenous appendicitis with absence a color Doppler , and 10 cases of perforated appendicitis at tomography computer integration and 10 cases of volvulus was found.

Conclusions

Ultrasonography (US) is therefore rapidly becoming an important imaging modality for the evaluation of acute abdominal pain, particularly in pediatric patients, where satisfactory examination is often not achievable for the attending clinicians. US provides excellent anatomic detail on the longitudinally and axial axis .
Gastrointestinal perforation: ultrasonographic diagnosis
Authors: Coppolino FF , Gatta G , Di Grezia G , Reginelli A , Iacobellis F , Vallone G , Giganti M , Genovese EA
Published: May 2019

Gastrointestinal tract perforations can occur for various causes such as peptic ulcer, inflammatory disease, blunt or penetrating trauma, iatrogenic factors, foreign body or a neoplasm that require an early recognition and, often, a surgical treatment.

Ultrasonography could be useful as an initial diagnostic test to determine, in various cases the presence and, sometimes, the cause of the pneumoperitoneum.

The main sonographic sign of perforation is free intraperitoneal air, resulting in an increased echogenicity of a peritoneal stripe associated with multiple reflection artifacts and characteristic comet-tail appearance.

It is best detected using linear probes in the right upper quadrant between the anterior abdominal wall, in the prehepatic space.

Direct sign of perforation may be detectable, particularly if they are associated with other sonographic abnormalities, called indirect signs, like thickened bowel loop and air bubbles in ascitic fluid or in a localized fluid collection, bowel or gallbladder thickened wall associated with decreased bowel motility or ileus.

Neverthless, this exam has its own pitfalls. It is strongly operator-dependant; some machines have low-quality images that may not able to detect intraperitoneal free air; furthermore, some patients may be less cooperative to allow for scanning of different regions; sonography is also difficult in obese patients and with those having subcutaneous emphysema. Although CT has more accuracy in the detection of the site of perforation, ultrasound may be particularly useful also in patient groups where radiation burden should be limited notably children and pregnant women.
Mobile marketing recommendation method based on user location feedback
Authors: Yin Chunyong , Ding Shilei , Wang Jin
Published: May 2019

Location-based mobile marketing recommendation has become one of the hot spots in e-commerce. The current mobile marketing recommendation system only treats location information as a recommended attribute, which weakens the role of users and shopping location information in the recommendation. This paper focuses on location feedback data of user and proposes a location-based mobile marketing recommendation model by convolutional neural network (LBCNN). First, the users’ location-based behaviors are divided into different time windows. For each window, the extractor achieves users’ timing preference characteristics from different dimensions. Next, we use the convolutional model in the convolutional neural network model to train a classifier. The experimental results show that the model proposed in this paper is better than the traditional recommendation models in the terms of accuracy rate and recall rate, both of which increase nearly 10%.
A Clinical Perspective of Sleep and Andrological Health: Assessment, Treatment Considerations, and Future Research
Authors: Liu Peter Y
Published: May 2019

Context

Sleep that is insufficient, misaligned, or disrupted causes hypersomnolence and neuropsychological deficits, adversely affects cardiometabolic health, and is increasingly recognized to impair other biological processes that lead to conditions important to men, such as hypogonadism, erectile dysfunction, and infertility.

Evidence Acquisition

Literature review from 1970 to December 2018.

Evidence Synthesis

High-quality and complementary epidemiological and interventional studies establish that abnormal sleep is associated with increased mortality, hypertension, and other cardiometabolic disorders (insufficient, disrupted, and misaligned sleep), as well as reduced fecundity and total sperm count (insufficient sleep), erectile dysfunction (disrupted sleep), and low testosterone (both). Circadian misalignment shifts the peak of testosterone’s diurnal rhythm to occur soon after waking up, irrespective of the biological clock time, but it does not change the mean concentration. Preliminary studies show that extending sleep in individuals who are chronically sleep deprived may become a strategy to reduce insulin resistance and hypertension. Continuous positive airway pressure therapy can improve erectile function, and possibly systemic testosterone exposure, but only when used adherently by men with obstructive sleep apnea. Both high-dose and replacement-dose testosterone therapies modestly worsen sleep-disordered breathing, but they also improve cardiometabolic function and sexual desire. Persistence of either the adverse or beneficial outcomes over the longer term requires further investigation.

Conclusions

Sleep is increasingly recognized to be essential for healthy living. Establishing the effect of abnormal sleep, and of improving sleep, on andrological issues of prime interest to men will promote prioritization of sleep, and may thereby improve overall long-term health outcomes.
Elegy’s Generation: Muriel Rukeyser, M. L. Rosenthal, and Poetry after the Left
Authors: Moe Lukas
Published: May 2019

From the late 1930s through midcentury, poets in the United States reckoned with the decline of the political Left through a practice of elegy. The debates of interwar modernism shifted toward those of a postwar culture in which Depression-era aesthetics and politics came under the pressure of anticommunism. The 1940s work of Muriel Rukeyser, turning away from an earlier documentary poetics, exemplifies her generation’s concern with the continuity between the Popular Front and World War II rather than a retreat from New Deal reform to patriotic consensus. During this understudied period in her career spanning U.S. 1 (1938) and Elegies (1949), Rukeyser enthusiastically joined the efforts of radical poets to recover the legacy of the Spanish Civil War while modifying elegy and adapting popular genres such as the soldier’s letter to the struggles of the present. In their counterintuitive figures of address, meter, and rhyme, Rukeyser’s wartime poems offer a revisionary perspective on modern elegy and, in the context of their reception by the critic M. L. Rosenthal, an alternative to the milieus and politics of late modernism in American postwar literary culture.
Political Melodrama Meets Domestic Fiction: The Politics of Genre inNorth and South
Authors: Kucich John
Published: May 2019

Generic innovation has the potential to create strong new frameworks for political discourse. Elizabeth Gaskell's North and South hybridizes two nineteenth-century narrative genres—political melodrama and domestic fiction—to invite readerly involvement in the creation of new narratives of political reform. The novel “relocates” the conventions of these two genres, transplanting the formal, thematic, and rhetorical conventions of each genre to the plotlines and subject matter of the other. Such relocation undermines normative expectations about both genres and opens possibilities for new kinds of stories about social conflict. North and South exploits generic dissonance to encourage creative political engagement, stressing the urgency of reform but without fixed expectations about its outcome. Gaskell makes generic relocation possible by defamiliarizing both genres, exposing their intrinsic limitations while calling attention to the new conceptual work each genre's conventions might perform in unexpected narrative contexts. In its approach to generic hybridization, North and South typifies Condition of England novels, which routinely relocate existing generic conventions of many kinds—the bildungsroman, the regional novel, crime fiction, the roman à clef, the biblical allegory. Transplanting conventions from these various genres into narrative contexts where they seem not to belong, Condition of England novels exploit generic dissonance as an instrument of open-ended literary and political regeneration. Condition of England novels were the first group of literary texts to call on readers to participate at the national level in social reform, and generic dissonance played a key role in that literary and political act of inclusion.
Doublesex controls specification and maintenance of the gonad stem cell niches in Drosophila
Authors: Camara Nicole , Whitworth Cale , Dove Abigail , Van Doren Mark
Published: May 2019

Sex-specific development of the gonads is a key aspect of sexual dimorphism that is regulated by Doublesex/Mab3 Related Transcription Factors (DMRTs) in diverse animal species. We find that in mutants for Drosophila dsx, important components of the male and female gonad stem cell niches (hubs and terminal filaments/cap cells, respectively) still form. Initially, gonads in all dsx mutants (both XX and XY) initiate the male program of development, but later half of these gonads switch to form female stem cell niche structures. One individual can have both male-type and female-type gonad niches, however male and female niches are usually not observed in the same gonad, indicating that cells make a “group decision” about which program to follow. We conclude that dsx does not act in an instructive manner to regulate male vs. female niche formation, as these structures form in the absence of dsx function. Instead, dsx acts to “tip the balance” between the male or female programs, which are then executed independent of dsx. We show that bric a brac acts downstream of dsx to control the male vs. female niche decision. These results indicate that, in both flies and mammals, the sexual fate of the somatic gonad is remarkably plastic and is controlled by a combination of autonomous and non-autonomous cues.
Mammalian SWI/SNF collaborates with a polycomb-associated protein to regulate male germline transcription in the mouse
Authors: Menon Debashish U. , Shibata Yoichiro , Mu Weipeng , Magnuson Terry
Published: May 2019

A deficiency in BRG1, the catalytic subunit of the SWI/SNF chromatin remodeling complex, results in a meiotic arrest during spermatogenesis. Here, we explore the causative mechanisms. BRG1 is preferentially enriched at active promoters of genes essential for spermatogonial pluripotency and meiosis. In contrast, BRG1 is also associated with the repression of somatic genes. Chromatin accessibility at these target promoters is dependent upon BRG1. These results favor a model in which BRG1 coordinates spermatogenic transcription to ensure meiotic progression. In spermatocytes, BRG1 interacts with SCML2, a testis-specific PRC1 factor that is associated with the repression of somatic genes. We present evidence to suggest that BRG1 and SCML2 concordantly regulate genes during meiosis. Furthermore, BRG1 is required for the proper localization of SCML2 and its associated deubiquitylase, USP7, to the sex chromosomes during pachynema. SCML2-associated mono-ubiquitylation of histone H2A lysine 119 (H2AK119ub1) and acetylation of histone lysine 27 (H3K27ac) are elevated in Brg1cKO testes. Coincidentally, the PRC1 ubiquitin ligase RNF2 is activated while a histone H2A/H2B deubiquitylase USP3 is repressed. Thus, BRG1 impacts the male epigenome by influencing the localization and expression of epigenetic modifiers. This mechanism highlights a novel paradigm of cooperativity between SWI/SNF and PRC1.
Prenatal independent and combined effects of yolk vitamin E and corticosterone on embryo growth and oxidative status in the yellow-legged gull
Authors: Parolini Marco , Possenti Cristina Daniela , Secomandi Simona , Carboni Silvia , Caprioli Manuela , Rubolini Diego , Romano Andrea , Saino Nicola
Published: May 2019

Variation in the concentration of antioxidants and hormones of maternal origin in the eggs of birds can have profound influences on offspring phenotype both pre- and post-natally. Egg maternal substances, however, can have interacting effects, but experimental studies of the consequences of the combined variation in the egg concentration of such molecules are extremely rare, particularly as far as prenatal stages are considered. We manipulated the yolk concentrations of vitamin E and corticosterone, which are the main antioxidants and, respectively, the main glucocorticoid hormone in bird eggs, both independently and simultaneously and we tested their separate and combined effects on growth and oxidative status in the liver and in the brain of yellow-legged gull (Larus michahellis) embryos. Egg supplementation of relatively large, yet physiological doses of corticosterone depressed embryo growth (total body mass, tarsus length and liver mass) while administration of vitamin E in association with corticosterone restored normal growth. Vitamin E did not affect embryo growth when administered alone. We further analyzed independent and combined effects of vitamin E and corticosterone on liver and brain total antioxidant capacity, concentration of reactive oxygen molecules and lipid peroxidation. Vitamin E significantly reduced liver total antioxidant capacity, while corticosterone depressed brain lipid peroxidation. Prenatal exposure to vitamin E and corticosterone appears to have antagonistic effects on body growth, although vitamin E is not limiting in yellow-legged gull eggs. In combination with the results of previous experiments on the same species applying smaller experimental doses or focusing on the post-natal rather than pre-natal life stages, our findings indicate that the effects of a physiological increase in the egg concentrations of these substances can be life stage- and dose-specific, implying that generalizing prenatal effects of egg compounds may not be feasible.
Voltages and resistances of the anterior Malpighian tubule of Drosophila melanogaster
Authors: Beyenbach Klaus W.
Published: May 2019

The small size of Malpighian tubules in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster has discouraged measurements of the transepithelial electrical resistance. The present study introduces two methods for measuring the transepithelial resistance in isolated Drosophila Malpighian tubules using conventional microelectrodes and PClamp hardware and software. The first method uses three microelectrodes to measure the specific transepithelial resistance normalized to tubule length or luminal surface area for comparison with resistances of other epithelia. The second method uses only two microelectrodes to measure the relative resistance for comparing before and after effects in a single Malpighian tubule. Knowledge of the specific transepithelial resistance allows the first electrical model of electrolyte secretion by the main segment of the anterior Malpighian tubule of Drosophila. The electrical model is remarkably similar to that of the distal Malpighian tubule of Aedes aegypti when tubules of Drosophila and Aedes are studied in vitro under the same experimental conditions. Thus, despite 189 millions of years of evolution separating these two genera, the electrophysiological properties of their Malpighian tubules remains remarkably conserved.
Selection for longer limbs in mice increases bone stiffness and brittleness, but does not alter bending strength
Authors: Cosman Miranda N. , Britz Hayley M. , Rolian Campbell
Published: May 2019

The ability of a bone to withstand loads depends on its structural and material properties. These tend to differ among species with different modes of locomotion, reflecting their unique loading patterns. The evolution of derived limb morphologies, such as the long limbs associated with jumping, may compromise overall bone strength. We evaluated bone mechanical properties in the Longshanks mouse, which was selectively bred for increased tibia length relative to body mass. We combined analyses of 3D shape and cross-sectional geometry of the tibia, with mechanical testing, and bone composition assays, to compare bone strength, elastic properties, and mineral composition in Longshanks and in random-bred controls. Our data show that, despite being more slender, cortical geometry and predicted bending strength of the Longshanks tibia were similar to controls. In whole bone bending tests, measures of bone bending strength were similar across groups, however, Longshanks tibiae were significantly more rigid, more brittle, and required less than half the energy to fracture. Tissue-level elastic properties were altered in the same way in Longshanks, but the bones did not differ in water content, ash content, or density. These results indicate that while Longshanks bones are as strong as random-bred control tibiae, selection for increased tibia length has altered its elastic properties, possibly through changes in organic bony matrix composition. We conclude that selection for certain limb morphologies, and/or selection for rapid skeletal growth, can lead to tissue-level changes that can increase the risk of skeletal fracture, which in turn may favor the correlated evolution of compensatory mechanisms to mitigate increased fracture risk, such as delayed skeletal maturity.
Geographic Cross-Sectional Fiscal Spending Multipliers: What Have We Learned?
Authors: Chodorow-Reich Gabriel
Published: May 2019

A geographic cross-sectional fiscal spending multiplier measures the effect of an increase in spending in one region of a monetary union. Empirical studies of such multipliers have proliferated. I review this research and what the evidence implies for national multipliers. Based on an updated analysis of the ARRA and a survey of empirical studies, my preferred point estimate for a cross-sectional multiplier is 1.8. The paper also discusses conditions under which the cross-sectional multiplier provides a rough lower bound for the national, no-monetary-policy-response multiplier. Putting these elements together, the cross-sectional evidence suggests a national no-monetary-policy-response multiplier of 1.7 or above. (JEL E32, E52, E62, H54, H76, R53)
Correcting for Misreporting of Government Benefits
Authors: Mittag Nikolas
Published: May 2019

Data linkage studies often document, but do not remedy, severe survey errors. To improve survey estimates despite restricted linked data access, this paper develops a convenient and general estimation method that combines public use data with conditional distribution parameters estimated from linked data. Analyses using linked SNAP data show that this method sharply improves estimates and consistently outperforms corrections that mainly rely on survey data. Yet, some univariate corrections perform well when linked data do not exist. For SNAP, extrapolating from linked data across time and geography still improves upon estimates using survey data only, even after survey-based corrections. (JEL C81, C83, H75, I18, I38)