bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Preoperative Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation for Postinfarction Ventricular Septal Defect
Authors: Ram Eilon , Kogan Alexander , Orlov Boris , Raanani Ehud , Sternik Leonid
Published: February 2019

The mortality rate after the development of ventricular septal defect (VSD) remains high despite progress in pharmaceutical therapy, invasive cardiology, and surgical techniques. Although early surgical repair of postinfarction VSD is associated with a high mortality rate, in hemodynamic unstable patients surgery cannot always be postponed and surgical repair may be required urgently. We present two cases of patients diagnosed with postinfarction VSD who were in cardiogenic shock with multiorgan failure despite optimal treatment. They were therefore connected to venoarterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation as a bridge to reparative surgery.
Robotic-Assisted Thoracoscopic Repair of Right-Sided Bochdalek Hernia in Adults: A Two-Case Series
Authors: Hunter Lucas M. , Mozer Anthony B. , Anciano Carlos J. , Oliver Aundrea L. , Iannettoni Mark D. , Speicher James E.
Published: February 2019

Bochdalek hernia is a congenital diaphragmatic hernia that presents rarely in adulthood. Because of the paucity of cases, no standard repair technique has been identified. Here we present two cases of robotic, thoracoscopic repair of this rare hernia defect. Two separate adult patients with right-sided abdominal pain presented to the emergency department for evaluation. Both patients were diagnosed with right-sided Bochdalek hernia and repair was undertaken with a robotic, transthoracic approach. Repair technique is described in detail, including port placement, dissection technique, and repair strategy. Advantages of the robotic, transthoracic approach are discussed in detail. A transthoracic minimally invasive approach using a robotic platform is noted to be both feasible and practical in the treatment of adult Bochdalek hernia.
Male Nursing Students’ Social Appearance Anxiety and Their Coping Attitudes
Authors: Turan Nuray , Özdemir Aydın Gülsün , Kaya Hatice , Aksel Gayenur , Yılmaz Arzu
Published: February 2019

This study aimed at examining social appearance anxiety levels of male nursing students and their coping attitudes and identifying the relationship between them. A cross-sectional research approach was adopted in a study population of 180; the sample comprised 129 students. Data were collected using a socio-demographic information form, the Social Appearance Anxiety Scale (SAAS), and the Assessment of Coping Attitudes Inventory (COPE). The average age of students was 20.54 ± 1.49 years. The male students’ average score obtained from the SAAS measure was 32.64 ± 13.07, while that of the COPE Inventory was 138.11 ± 14.47. Significant correlations were detected between students’ SAAS scores and COPE scale scores. There were negative relationships between social anxiety scores and COPE subscales of positive reinterpretation and growth ( p < .05), use of instrumental social support ( p < .05), active coping ( p ≤ .01), and planning ( p ≤ .01). In contrast, there were positive relationships between social anxiety scores and COPE subscales of mental disengagement ( p ≤ .01), denial ( p ≤ .01), behavioral disengagement ( p ≤ .01), restraint ( p ≤ .01), use of emotional social support ( p < .05), substance use ( p ≤ .01), and acceptance ( p < .05). The conclusion was that male students who do not perceive themselves as having an ideal body image face high social appearance anxiety. There is a prejudice that social appearance anxiety has negative effects on these students’ self-confidence. In this context, this research revealed concrete results about how male nursing students have battled the prejudices that they have faced throughout their student life.
The great choke, Ovation® aortic body graft stenosis
Authors: Alsheekh Ahmad , Aurshina Afsha , Chait Jesse , Hingorani Anil , Ascher Enrico
Published: February 2019

Introduction

Abdominal endovascular aneurysm repair is a minimally invasive alternative to major open surgery for the repair of abdominal aortic aneurysms that results in reduced recovery times and early survival rates.

Methods

The TriVascular Ovation® Abdominal Stent Graft System is a low-profile endovascular device with active fixation used for endovascular aneurysm repair. The stent graft is designed to reline the diseased vasculature, providing an endovascular blood conduit for isolating the aneurysm from the high-pressure flow of blood, thereby reducing the risk of rupture. The stent graft is a modular configuration comprised of an aortic body section, iliac limbs, and iliac extensions as required. Results and Conclusion: We present a case of symptomatic aortic body graft stenosis in the unsupported segment below the O-rings, 26 months after the treatment of abdominal aortic aneurysm with Ovation® Abdominal Stent Graft System. The successful repair was performed by ballooning the stenotic area which resulted in complete resolution of the symptoms.
Multilevel analysis of the relationship between school-level variables and student achievement
Authors: Oldac Yusuf Ikbal , Kondakci Yasar
Published: February 2019

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between student achievement and a set of school-level variables, including distributed leadership, academic optimism, teacher collaboration and enabling school structure. The study was designed as correlational research. A Hierarchical Linear Modeling (HLM) analysis was conducted with a data set collected from 23,053 students and 426 teachers from 40 randomly selected public schools in Turkey. The data were collected using previously developed scales and student achievement data from the Ministry of National Education. HLM results revealed that two dimensions of academic optimism – namely collective efficacy and trust in clients – and hindering bureaucracy significantly predicted between-school differences in student achievement. The tested HLM model explained 60% of the variation in student achievement across schools. The results revealed that student achievement is shaped by school-level variables that are tied to the structural and functional characteristics of schools in Turkey. However, these school characteristics are rooted in the societal structures and cultural characteristics of the country. Hence, it is concluded that a reinterpretation of common school-level variables used to predict student achievement in the contexts of different countries is necessary.
Burden of large vessel occlusion stroke and the service gap of thrombectomy: A population-based study using a territory-wide public hospital system registry
Authors: Tsang Anderson C.O. , You Jia , Li Lai Fung , Tsang Frederick C.P. , Woo Pauline P.S. , Tsui Eva L.H. , Yu Philip , Leung Gilberto K. K.
Published: February 2019

Background

Ischemic stroke due to large vessel occlusion can be effectively treated with thrombectomy but access to this treatment is limited in many parts of the world. Local incidence of large vessel occlusion is critical in determining the development of thrombectomy service, but reliable data from Asian countries are lacking.

Aims

We performed a population-based study to estimate the burden of large vessel occlusion and the service gap for thrombectomy in Hong Kong.

Methods

All acute ischemic stroke patients admitted in 2016 to the public healthcare system, which provided 90% of the emergency healthcare in the city, was identified from the Hong Kong Hospital Authority’s central electronic database. The diagnosis of large vessel occlusion was retrospectively verified by two independent cerebrovascular specialists in a randomly sampled cohort based on clinical and neuroimaging data. The incidence of large vessel occlusion in the population was estimated through weighting the sample results and compared with the thrombectomy data in the same period.

Results

There were 6859 acute ischemic stroke patients treated in the public health system in 2016. Amongst the 300 patients randomly sampled according to diagnosis coding, 130 suffered from anterior circulation large vessel occlusion. This translated to 918 patients (95% CI 653–1180) and 13.3% of all ischemic stroke patients. The estimated incidence of anterior circulation large vessel occlusion was 12.5 per 100,000 persons per year (95% CI 11.7–13.4). Large vessel occlusion stroke patients were more commonly female than male (67.4% vs. 31.6%, p = 0.003), and were older than non-large vessel occlusion stroke patients (mean of 80.5 years vs. 71.4 years, p = < 0.001). They also had higher 30-day mortality rate (31.1% vs. 4.6%, p = < 0.001), and longer hospital stay (mean 38.6 vs. 21.1 days, p = 0.003) than non-large vessel occlusion stroke. In the same period, 83 thrombectomies for large vessel occlusion were performed, representing 9.1% of the estimated large vessel occlusion incidence.

Conclusion

The estimated incidence of anterior circulation large vessel occlusion in the Hong Kong Chinese population is lower than that in the West. There is however a substantial service gap for endovascular thrombectomy with less than 10% of large vessel occlusion patients receiving thrombectomy.
Spectacle and Sensation in The Octoroon/An Octoroon
Authors: Curry Jane Kathleen
Published: February 2019

Dion Boucicault's 1859 sensation melodrama The Octoroon; or, Life in Louisiana attracted audiences with emotionally charged situations, such as a slave auction, combined with the visual sensation of a realistic depiction of a scene of spectacular danger, the onstage burning of a steamboat. Branden Jacobs-Jenkins' 2014 adaptation called An Octoroon, while departing significantly from Boucicault's approach to visual storytelling, also uses a visual sensation to create an emotional impact. Jacobs-Jenkins invites an audience to enjoy Boucicault's storytelling, revisiting a melodrama now rarely revived, while simultaneously inviting them to engage with and critique the troubling racial stereotypes of the original.
Remembering the good: Constructing the nation through joyful memories in school textbooks in the former Yugoslavia
Authors: Trošt Tamara P
Published: February 2019

Studies examining the reification of nationhood narratives in history textbooks have typically focused on memories rooted in trauma (stories of loss of territory, victimhood, and perpetual enmity with neighbours), although glorification of the nation, ideas of who belongs to the nation, and what constitutes the nation, are also found in joyful memories. In this article, I examine how memories of joy are accounted for in a classical nation-building subject such as history. Which discursive strategies do textbooks use in instilling particular images of the nation in pupils’ heads, and how do they differ from those used in non-joyful events? Relying on content analysis of history textbooks currently used in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, Serbia, and Slovenia, I examine how ‘joyful’ memories are represented in memories of ‘banal’ and everyday joy (memories of sports events, music, literature, and popular culture), and in memories of ‘hot’ or explicit nationalism (memories of victories in battles, reclaiming territory, etc). I conclude with reflections on the usefulness of studying memories of joy when examining issues of nation-building, national identity, and nationalism.
Beyond trauma? Memories of Joi/y and memory play in Blade Runner 2049
Authors: Arnold-de Simine Silke
Published: February 2019

Cultural memory studies finds itself at an impasse: whereas ‘cultural memory’ is conceptualized as mediated, dynamic, imaginative and shaped by the present, the dominant paradigm of ‘trauma’ illuminates the hold the past has on us, casting the shadow of a melancholic subjectivity that threatens to obscure our agency as (political) subjects. This article asks what lies in store for memory studies beyond the focus on (classic) trauma (theory). Using the movie Blade Runner 2049 (US 2017; dir: Denis Villeneuve) as an illustrative example, it explores how creative and joyful forms of meaning-making through play and acts of memory inform each other in what the psychoanalyst DW Winnicott described as ‘cultural experience’.
An update on the CardioMEMS pulmonary artery pressure sensor
Authors: Ayyadurai Puvanalingam , Alkhawam Hassan , Saad Muhammad , Al-Sadawi Mohammed Adel , Shah Niel N. , Kosmas Constantine E. , Vittorio Timothy J.
Published: February 2019

Heart failure (HF) is one of the most important healthcare issues due to its prevalence, high morbidity and mortality, as well as its economic burden. A shift in the healthcare model towards reducing inpatient hospitalizations might have a significant impact on HF-related costs and quality of life. Recently, wireless monitoring has begun to be an essential part of the management in the patient with HF. The CardioMEMS HF system is one of the best examples pertaining to the success in this field. This article will discuss the CardioMEMS HF system and the rationale behind its development.
Examining psychological capital of optimism, self-efficacy and self-monitoring as predictors of attitude towards organizational change
Authors: Nwanzu Chiyem Lucky , Babalola Sunday Samson
Published: February 2019

This study ascertains whether three positive organizational behaviour capacities (optimism, self-efficacy and self-monitoring) predict attitude towards organizational change. Design of this study was cross-sectional, and data were collected with self-report measure. One hundred sixty-nine employees were drawn from 21 organizations in Delta State, Nigeria. The participants were made of 108 (64%) females and 61 (36%) males, with the mean age of 40.21 years (SD, 9.13). Simple regression analysis revealed that optimism, self-efficacy, and self-monitoring, positively and significantly predicted attitude towards organizational change. While multiple regression analysis revealed that only self-efficacy positively and significantly contributed to attitude towards organizational change. It was concluded that the predictors influence employees’ attitude towards organizational change with self-efficacy contributing the highest influence to organizational change attitude. It was recommended that for successful employees change acceptance, optimism, self-efficacy and self-monitoring should be structured into policies and strategies for organizational implementation.
Inclusion for All? An Exploration of Teacher’s Reflections on Inclusion in Two Elementary Schools
Authors: Bemiller Michelle
Published: February 2019

Teachers face numerous challenges. Pressure exists to meet Common Core Standards and increase state test scores while operating on shoestring budgets. In addition, public schools have seen an increase in students with disabilities—individuals with unique academic and social needs. Due to the Education for all Handicapped Children Act of 1975, inclusion in general education classrooms is the right of children with disabilities. Disability advocates applaud this act for ensuring equality for all. Yet, equality is not akin to equity. In classrooms where teachers lack proper training, children with special needs may not experience equity, ultimately weakening the intent of inclusive practices. The current study stems from a commissioned needs assessment that explored how teachers at two elementary schools in Northeast Ohio define inclusion, current training related to students with disabilities, and teacher recommendations for training/resources to teach students with special needs effectively. The article ends with policy and future research recommendations.
Impact of calcification and infrapopliteal outflow on the outcome of endovascular treatment of femoropopliteal occlusive disease
Authors: Athayde Soares Rafael de , Matielo Marcelo Fernando , Brochado Neto Francisco Cardoso , Pires Ana Paula Maia , de Almeida Rogério Duque , de Jesus Martins Murilo , Sacilotto Roberto
Published: February 2019

Objectives

In this paper, we report the long-term outcomes of the endovascular treatment of femoropopliteal occlusive disease, focusing on the importance of calcification and runoff outflow on limb salvage and patency, and the factors associated with these outcomes at a single center.

Methods

This retrospective cohort study included consecutive patients with femoropopliteal occlusive who underwent femoropopliteal angioplasty at the Division of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery, Hospital do Servidor Público Estadual, São Paulo, Brazil, between January 2015 and July 2017.

Results

In total, 86 femoropopliteal occlusive angioplasties were performed in 86 patients, with an initial technical success rate of 95.34%. The mean ± standard deviation follow-up time was 880 ± 68.84 days. The analysis was performed at 720 days. Technical failure occurred in four patients, who were excluded from the analysis, leaving 82 patients and 82 femoropopliteal occlusive angioplasties. The estimated primary patency, secondary patency, limb salvage, and overall survival rates at 720 days were 60%, 96%, 90%, and 82.5%, respectively. In univariate and multivariate analyses, Cox regression showed worse primary patency rates in patients with one tibial vessel or isolated popliteal artery runoff ( p = 0.005), calcification grade 4 ( p = 0.019), calcification grade > 2 ( p = 0.017), small vessel diameter < 4 mm ( p = 0.03) or primary angioplasty without stenting ( p = 0.021). A univariate analysis showed worse limb salvage in patients with one tibial vessel or isolated popliteal artery runoff ( p = 0.039).

Conclusions

In this study, the main factors associated with worse outcomes in the endovascular treatment of femoropopliteal occlusive in terms of loss of primary patency were one tibial vessel or isolated popliteal artery runoff, calcification grade 4, or calcification grade > 2, small vessel diameter < 4 mm, and no stents use. One tibial vessel or isolated popliteal artery runoff was also associated with limb loss in a univariate Cox regression analysis.
Weaving seams with data: Conceptualizing City APIs as elements of infrastructures
Authors: Raetzsch Christoph , Pereira Gabriel , Vestergaard Lasse S , Brynskov Martin
Published: February 2019

This article addresses the role of application programming interfaces (APIs) for integrating data sources in the context of smart cities and communities. On top of the built infrastructures in cities, application programming interfaces allow to weave new kinds of seams from static and dynamic data sources into the urban fabric. Contributing to debates about “urban informatics” and the governance of urban information infrastructures, this article provides a technically informed and critically grounded approach to evaluating APIs as crucial but often overlooked elements within these infrastructures. The conceptualization of what we term City APIs is informed by three perspectives: In the first part, we review established criticisms of proprietary social media APIs and their crucial function in current web architectures. In the second part, we discuss how the design process of APIs defines conventions of data exchanges that also reflect negotiations between API producers and API consumers about affordances and mental models of the underlying computer systems involved. In the third part, we present recent urban data innovation initiatives, especially CitySDK and OrganiCity, to underline the centrality of API design and governance for new kinds of civic and commercial services developed within and for cities. By bridging the fields of criticism, design, and implementation, we argue that City APIs as elements of infrastructures reveal how urban renewal processes become crucial sites of socio-political contestation between data science, technological development, urban management, and civic participation.
Musical Style Affects the Strength of Harmonic Expectancy
Authors: Vuvan Dominique T. , Hughes Bryn
Published: February 2019

Research in music perception has typically focused on common-practice music (tonal music from the Western European tradition, ca. 1750–1900) as a model of Western musical structure. However, recent research indicates that different styles within Western tonal music may follow distinct harmonic syntaxes. The current study investigated whether listeners can adapt their harmonic expectations when listening to different musical styles. In two experiments, listeners were presented with short musical excerpts that primed either rock or classical music, followed by a timbre-matched cadence. Results from both experiments indicated that listeners prefer V-I cadences over bVII-I cadences within a classical context, but that this preference is significantly diminished in a rock context. Our findings provide empirical support for the idea that different musical styles do employ different harmonic syntaxes. Furthermore, listeners are not only sensitive to these differences, but are able to adapt their expectations depending on the listening context.
Stress and Coping Among Public School Principals in a Midwest Metropolitan Sample
Authors: Kaufman Jason A.
Published: February 2019

The present study sought to investigate perceptions of stress and coping among public school principals. School principals are daily called upon to make decisions regarding a range of unscripted events. The position can be stressful, and stress is known to interfere with sound decision making. It was predicted that present samples of school principals would report a mean level of elevated stress. Contrary to expectations, school principals did not report an elevated level of stress. They instead reported an ostensibly effective reliance on problem-focused and emotion-focused coping skills. It remains unclear how the school principals developed such adaptive means for coping with the stress of leading schools. It is recommended that future research explore this question so that such skills may be transmitted to principals-in-training.
Ovarian teratoma and peritoneal endometriosis in a woman with Mayer–Rokitansky–Kuster–Hauser syndrome
Authors: Htay Wint-Thida , Huang Kuan-Gen , Yu Hnin Hnin
Published: February 2019

This is the case of a lady with underlying Mayer–Rokitansky–Kuster–Hauser Syndrome, with complaint of chronic pelvic cyclical pain for 2 years. She was diagnosed with a right ovarian teratoma by sonogram and magnetic resonance imaging. At the age of 20 years, she underwent an operation to create the neovagina with amnion. No abnormal finding was detected apart from this. Tumor markers were within the normal limit. Enucleation of right ovarian teratoma was performed intact and excision of pelvic endometriosis was done laparoscopically. The pathological report revealed that there was endometriosis at the cul de sac and mature cystic teratoma at the right ovary. This case was reported for awareness of the pathophysiology of disease, mechanism of endometriosis in this disease, and role of laparoscopy in providing complete treatment.
Involvement of Patient and Family Representatives in Health-Care Job Interview Panels
Authors: Thomsen Thora Grothe , Hølge-Hazelton Bibi
Published: February 2019

Objectives:

The involvement of patient and family representatives in job interview panels is sparsely documented. This study was conducted at a newly established university hospital in Denmark. The aim was to identify different perspectives on attitudes and experiences associated with involving patient and family representatives in the recruitment process for senior staff. Furthermore, the aim was to highlight considerations and reservations related to the subsequent implementation process.

Methods:

Inspiration was drawn from formative evaluation research.

Data Sources:

Seventeen telephone interviews with applicants, 49 e-mail responses from staff, and unsolicited e-mails to the researcher.

Analysis Strategy:

Interpretive description.

Results:

Learnings from the study showed among other things that the participating staff experienced widespread skepticism before participation in the job interview panels, but their experience in the panels led them to consider the patients’ and families’ input to be beneficial to the entire recruitment process. The considerations and reservations raised were divided into 5 themes.

Conclusions:

The results provide a relevant starting point to negotiate and refine the aims of collective patient involvement related to a given situation—such as health-care recruitment processes.
The topology of shapes made with points
Authors: Haridis Alexandros
Published: February 2019

In architecture, city planning, visual arts, and other design areas, shapes are often made with points, or with structural representations based on point-sets. Shapes made with points can be understood more generally as finite arrangements formed with elements (i.e. points) of the algebra of shapes Ui, for i = 0. This paper examines the kind of topology that is applicable to such shapes. From a mathematical standpoint, any “shape made with points” is equivalent to a finite space, so that topology on a shape made with points is no different than topology on a finite space: the study of topological structure naturally coincides with the study of preorder relations on the points of the shape. After establishing this fact, some connections between the topology of shapes made with points and the topology of “point-free” pictorial shapes (when i > 0) are defined and the main differences between the two are summarized.
Crime Victims and Their Unmet Civil Legal Needs: Pro Bono Service Provision Among Private Attorneys
Authors: Daigle Leah E. , Harris Michelle N. , Mummert Sadie J.
Published: February 2019

Crime victims often experience a host of negative consequences. In relation to these consequences, crime victims may also find themselves in need of assistance from the criminal justice system and civil legal service providers. Despite this need, crime victims often lack access to civil legal services. One way to potentially improve the availability and accessibility of civil legal services for crime victims is to increase the provision and availability of pro bono services; however, the way that attorneys perceive pro bono service for crime victims may be an impediment to service provision. Despite this, little is known about how private attorneys view pro bono work with crime victims. We examine how private attorneys view pro bono work with crime victims, the barriers to this service and what may incentivize them to engage in this work by utilizing data from a project assessing the civil legal needs of crime victims in the state of Georgia (USA). We find that a relatively small proportion of private attorneys in Georgia engage in pro bono work with crime victims. Barriers and incentives to pro bono service engagement and implications are discussed.
Anti-CD117 antibody depletes normal and myelodysplastic syndrome human hematopoietic stem cells in xenografted mice
Authors: Pang Wendy W. , Czechowicz Agnieszka , Logan Aaron C. , Bhardwaj Rashmi , Poyser Jessica , Park Christopher Y. , Weissman Irving L. , Shizuru Judith A.
Published: February 2019

The myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) represent a group of clonal disorders that result in ineffective hematopoiesis and are associated with an increased risk of transformation into acute leukemia. MDS arises from hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs); therefore, successful elimination of MDS HSCs is an important part of any curative therapy. However, current treatment options, including allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT), often fail to ablate disease-initiating MDS HSCs, and thus have low curative potential and high relapse rates. Here, we demonstrate that human HSCs can be targeted and eliminated by monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) that bind cell-surface CD117 (c-Kit). We show that an anti-human CD117 mAb, SR-1, inhibits normal cord blood and bone marrow HSCs in vitro. Furthermore, SR-1 and clinical-grade humanized anti-human CD117 mAb, AMG 191, deplete normal and MDS HSCs in vivo in xenograft mouse models. Anti-CD117 mAbs also facilitate the engraftment of normal donor human HSCs in MDS xenograft mouse models, restoring normal human hematopoiesis and eradicating aggressive pathologic MDS cells. This study is the first to demonstrate that anti-human CD117 mAbs have potential as novel therapeutics to eradicate MDS HSCs and augment the curative effect of allogeneic HCT for this disease. Moreover, we establish the foundation for use of these antibody agents not only in the treatment of MDS but also for the multitude of other HSC-driven blood and immune disorders for which transplant can be disease-altering.
Biomarkers for tuberculosis: the case for lipoarabinomannan
Authors: Correia-Neves Margarida , Fröberg Gabrielle , Korshun Liudmyla , Viegas Sofia , Vaz Paula , Ramanlal Nehaben , Bruchfeld Judith , Hamasur Beston , Brennan Patrick , Källenius Gunilla
Published: February 2019

Tuberculosis (TB) is considered the most onerous of infectious diseases according to recent reports from the World Health Organization. Available tests for TB diagnosis present severe limitations, and a reliable point-of-care (POC) diagnostic test does not exist. Neither is there a test to discern between the different stages of TB, and in particular to predict which patients withMycobacterium tuberculosisinfection and no clinical signs are more at risk of advancing to overt disease. We here review the usefulness of mycobacterial lipoarabinomannan (LAM) as a diagnostic marker for active and latent TB and, also, aspects of the immune response to LAM relevant to such tests. There is a high potential for urinary LAM-based POC tests for the diagnosis of active TB. Some technical challenges to optimised sensitivity of the test will be detailed. A method to quantify LAM in urine or serum should be further explored as a test of treatment effect. Recent data on the immune response to LAM suggest that markers for host response to LAM should be investigated for a prognostic test to recognise individuals at the greatest risk of disease activation.
Phosphoglycerate dehydrogenase promotes pancreatic cancer development by interacting with eIF4A1 and eIF4E
Authors: Ma Xuhui , Li Boya , Liu Jie , Fu Yan , Luo Yongzhang
Published: February 2019

Background

Pancreatic cancer is one of the most malignant cancers. The overall 5-year survival rate of its patients is 8%, the lowest among major cancer types. It is very urgent to study the development mechanisms of this cancer and provide potential targets for therapeutics design. Glucose, one of the most essential nutrients, is highly exploited for aerobic glycolysis in tumor cells to provide building blocks. However, the glucose consumption manner in pancreatic cancer cells is unclear. And the mechanism of the substantial metabolic pathway promoting pancreatic cancer development is also unrevealed.

Methods

13C6 glucose was used to trace the glucose carbon flux and detected by mass spectrum. The expressions of PHGDH were determined in cells and pancreatic adenocarcinomas. Knockdown and overexpression were performed to investigate the roles of PHGDH on pancreatic cancer cell proliferation, colony formation and tumor growth. The mechanisms of PHGDH promoting pancreatic cancer development were studied by identifying the interacting proteins and detecting the regulatory functions on translation initiations.

Results

Pancreatic cancer cells PANC-1 consumed large amounts of glucose in the serine and glycine de novo synthesis. Phosphoglycerate dehydrogenase (PHGDH) highly expressed and controlled this pathway. Knockdown of PHGDH significantly attenuated the tumor growth and prolonged the survival of tumor bearing mice. The pancreatic adenocarcinoma patients with low PHGDH expression had better overall survival. Mechanistically, knockdown of PHGDH inhibited cell proliferation and tumorigenesis through disrupting the cell-cell tight junctions and the related proteins expression. Besides catalyzing serine synthesis to activate AKT pathway, PHGDH was found to interact with the translation initiation factors eIF4A1 and eIF4E and facilitated the assembly of the complex eIF4F on 5’ mRNA structure to promote the relevant proteins expression.

Conclusion

Besides catalyzing serine synthesis, PHGDH promotes pancreatic cancer development through enhancing the translation initiations by interacting with eIF4A1 and eIF4E. Inhibiting the interactions of PHGDH/eIF4A1 and PHGDH/eIF4E will provide potential targets for anti-tumor therapeutics development.
RETRACTED ARTICLE: Research on professional talent training technology based on multimedia remote image analysis
Authors: Xu Bin , Li Xiyuan , Liang Hao , Li Yuan
Published: February 2019

In distance vocational education, teachers need to analyze according to the expression status of different students, so as to make corresponding training in training to improve training efficiency. At present, there are certain problems in the remote expression recognition of professional personnel. Based on this, this study analyzes the facial expression image and uses the wavelet transform algorithm to process the face image in complex lighting environment, thus improving the online transmission effect of the image. After that, this study uses orthogonal projection algorithm for face recognition. In addition, this paper enhances LBP features by dividing the original image into four images by wavelet decomposition. At the same time, in order to prevent the over-characteristics from reducing the classification accuracy and real-time calculation, this paper uses the PCA principal component analysis method to select the feature subset with the largest discrimination. Finally, through SVM, this article has done experiments on JAFFE facial expression database. The experimental results show that the proposed method has a significant improvement in the correct rate compared with the traditional LBP feature classification method and can improve the theoretical reference for subsequent related research.
3D finite element coupled analysis model for geotechnical and complex structural problems of historic masonry structures: conservation of Abu Serga church, Cairo, Egypt
Authors: Hemeda Sayed
Published: February 2019

This research presents the damage mechanism of a historical masonry architecture induced by differential settlement based on 3D FE analysis. The purpose of the study was to investigate the behavior fully-saturated soft clays subjected to self-weight loading from an old masonry structure of Abu Serga church which is the oldest church in Egypt dating back to the fifth century A.D and located in old Cairo area in Cairo city. The church gains its high prestige to having been constructed upon the Holy crypt of the Holy Family where they stayed during their sojourn in Egypt. The main objective of the present study is too accurately record and analysis the geotechnical problems and induced structural failure mechanisms observed and calculated in the field, experimental and numerical studies. The land area is also susceptible to floods. Numerical analysis for such geotechnical problems is largely expected to contribute to the conservation of cultural heritages. The present research presents an attempt and pilot study to design the PLAXIS 3D FE model to simulate ground problems, and to distort and analyze the stress of the complex structure of the Abu Serga church, which is loaded on plane level. Plastic modeling or Mohr–Coulomb model in advanced soil was used during the various stages of numerical analysis. Results are recorded and discussed with respect to stress and volumetric behavior of soil. Finally, the study represents the design studies and implementation of the inter-organizational retrofitting intervention and strengthening project for the oldest Coptic church in Egypt.
Understanding and managing cognitive impairment in bipolar disorder in older people
Authors: Rubinsztein Judy S. , Sahakian Barbara J. , O'Brien John T.
Published: February 2019

Bipolar disorder is less prevalent in older people but accounts for 8–10% of psychiatric admissions. Treating and managing bipolar disorder in older people is challenging because of medical comorbidity. We review the cognitive problems observed in older people, explore why these are important and consider current treatment options. There are very few studies examining the cognitive profiles of older people with bipolar disorder and symptomatic depression and mania, and these show significant impairments in executive function. Most studies have focused on cognitive impairment in euthymic older people: as in euthymic adults of working age, significant impairments are observed in tests of attention, memory and executive function/processing speeds. Screening tests are not always helpful in euthymic older people as the impairment can be relatively subtle, and more in-depth neuropsychological testing may be needed to show impairments. Cognitive impairment may be more pronounced in older people with ‘late-onset’ bipolar disorder than in those with ‘early-onset’ disorder. Strategies to address symptomatic cognitive impairment in older people include assertive treatment of the mood disorder, minimising drugs that can adversely affect cognition, optimising physical healthcare and reducing relapse rates.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

After reading this article you will be able to:

•

understand that cognitive impairment in euthymic older people with bipolar disorder is similar to that in working-age adults with the disorder, affecting attention, memory and executive function/processing speeds

•

recognise that cognitive impairment in older people is likely to be a major determinant of functional outcomes

•

Implement approaches to treat cognitive impairment in bipolar disorder.

DECLARATION OF INTEREST

B.J.S. consults for Cambridge Cognition, PEAK (www.peak.net) and Mundipharma.
Blackboard to Bedside: A Mathematical Modeling Bottom-Up Approach Toward Personalized Cancer Treatments
Authors: Hamis Sara , Powathil Gibin G. , Chaplain Mark A.J.
Published: February 2019

Cancers present with high variability across patients and tumors; thus, cancer care, in terms of disease prevention, detection, and control, can highly benefit from a personalized approach. For a comprehensive personalized oncology practice, this personalization should ideally consider data gathered from various information levels, which range from the macroscale population level down to the microscale tumor level, without omission of the central patient level. Appropriate data mined from each of these levels can significantly contribute in devising personalized treatment plans tailored to the individual patient and tumor. Mathematical models of solid tumors, combined with patient-specific tumor profiles, present a unique opportunity to personalize cancer treatments after detection using a bottom-up approach. Here, we discuss how information harvested from mathematical models and from corresponding in silico experiments can be implemented in preclinical and clinical applications. To conceptually illustrate the power of these models, one such model is presented, and various pertinent tumor and treatment scenarios are demonstrated in silico. The presented model, specifically a multiscale, hybrid cellular automaton, has been fully validated in vitro using multiple cell-line–specific data. We discuss various insights provided by this model and other models like it and their role in designing predictive tools that are both patient, and tumor specific. After refinement and parametrization with appropriate data, such in silico tools have the potential to be used in a clinical setting to aid in treatment protocols and decision making.
De-imperializing Gender
Authors: Wedeven Segall Kimberly
Published: February 2019

In Hope and Other Dangerous Pursuits Laila Lalami writes about a clandestine crossing from Morocco to Spain. Within this story she reveals the effects of this crossing on the changing religious beliefs of her two central female characters. While a probing critique notes how she tends to an analysis of the agency of these immigrants, there is little reference by Lalami to their religious identifiers. This is not an omission but a literary strategy suggesting that religious liaisons form venues of challenge and agency in Islamist revivals. Since faith practices are viewed differently by the women, and by the characters that surround them, these gaps illuminate the contradictions between how women view themselves and how others perceive them. Given how stereotypes of religion have emerged out of a history of colonization, these women’s personal journeys reject structures of entrapment and reductionism, resisting essentialist representations of women and Islam in unexpected ways.
Common cellular origin and diverging developmental programs for different sesamoid bones
Authors: Eyal Shai , Rubin Sarah , Krief Sharon , Levin Lihi , Zelzer Elazar
Published: February 2019

Sesamoid bones are small auxiliary bones that form near joints and contribute to their stability and function. Thus far, providing a comprehensive developmental model or classification system for this highly diverse group of bones has been challenging. Here, we compare our previously reported mechanisms of patella development in the mouse with those of two anatomically different sesamoids, namely lateral fabella and digit sesamoids. We show that all three types of sesamoid bones originate from Sox9+/Scx+ progenitors under the regulation of TGFβ and independently of mechanical stimuli from muscles. Whereas BMP2 regulates the growth of all examined sesamoids, the differentiation of lateral fabella or digit sesamoids is regulated redundantly by BMP4 and BMP2. Next, we show that whereas patella and digit sesamoids initially form in juxtaposition to long bones, lateral fabella forms independently and at a distance. Finally, our evidence suggests that, unlike the synovial joint that separates patella from femur, digit sesamoids detach from the phalanx by formation of a fibrocartilaginous joint. These findings highlight both common and divergent molecular and mechanical features of sesamoid bone development, which underscores their evolutionary plasticity.
Ecrg4 deficiency extends the replicative capacity of neural stem cells in a Foxg1-dependent manner
Authors: Nakatani Yuka , Kiyonari Hiroshi , Kondo Toru
Published: February 2019

The self-renewal activity of neural stem cells (NSCs) has been suggested to decrease with aging, resulting in age-dependent declines in brain function, such as presbyopia and memory loss. The molecular mechanisms underlying decreases in NSC proliferation with age need to be elucidated in more detail to develop treatments that promote brain function. We have previously reported that the expression of esophageal cancer-related gene 4 (Ecrg4) was upregulated in aged NSCs, whereas its overexpression decreased NSC proliferation, suggesting a functional relationship between Ecrg4 and NSC aging. Using Ecrg4-deficient mice in which the Ecrg4 locus was replaced with the lacZ gene, we here show that Ecrg4 deficiency recovered the age-dependent decline in NSC proliferation and enhanced spatial learning and memory in the Morris water-maze paradigm. We demonstrate that the proliferation of Ecrg4-deficient NSCs was partly maintained by the increased expression of Foxg1. Collectively, these results determine Ecrg4 as a NSC aging factor.
Nell2 regulates the contralateral-versus-ipsilateral visual projection as a domain-specific positional cue
Authors: Nakamoto Chizu , Durward Elaine , Horie Masato , Nakamoto Masaru
Published: February 2019

In mammals with binocular vision, retinal ganglion cell (RGC) axons from each eye project to eye-specific domains in the contralateral and ipsilateral dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus (dLGN), underpinning disparity-based stereopsis. Although domain-specific axon guidance cues that discriminate contralateral and ipsilateral RGC axons have long been postulated as a key mechanism for development of the eye-specific retinogeniculate projection, the molecular nature of such cues has remained elusive. Here, we show that the extracellular glycoprotein Nell2 (neural epidermal growth factor-like-like 2) is expressed in the dorsomedial region of the dLGN, which ipsilateral RGC axons terminate in and contralateral axons avoid. In Nell2 mutant mice, contralateral RGC axons abnormally invaded the ipsilateral domain of the dLGN, and ipsilateral axons terminated in partially fragmented patches, forming a mosaic pattern of contralateral and ipsilateral axon-termination zones. In vitro, Nell2 exerted inhibitory effects on contralateral, but not ipsilateral, RGC axons. These results provide evidence that Nell2 acts as a domain-specific positional label in the dLGN that discriminates contralateral and ipsilateral RGC axons, and that it plays essential roles in the establishment of the eye-specific retinogeniculate projection.
Podoplanin regulates the migration of mesenchymal stromal cells and their interaction with platelets
Authors: Ward Lewis S. C. , Sheriff Lozan , Marshall Jennifer L. , Manning Julia E. , Brill Alexander , Nash Gerard B. , McGettrick Helen M.
Published: February 2019

Mesenchymal stromal cells (MSC) up-regulate podoplanin at sites of infection, chronic inflammation, and cancer. We investigated the functional consequences of podoplanin expression on the migratory potential of MSC and their interactions with circulating platelets. Expression of podoplanin significantly enhanced the migration of MSC compared to MSC lacking podoplanin. Rac-1 inhibition altered the membrane localisation of podoplanin and in turn significantly reduced MSC migration. Blocking Rac-1 activity had no effect on the migration of MSC lacking podoplanin, indicating it was responsible for regulation of migration through podoplanin. When podoplanin-expressing MSC were seeded on the basal surface of a porous filter, they were able to capture platelets perfused over the uncoated apical surface and induce platelet aggregation. Similar microthrombi were observed when endothelial cells were co-cultured on the apical surface. Confocal imaging shows podoplanin-expressing MSC extending processes into the EC layer, which could interact with circulating platelets. In both models, platelet aggregation induced by podoplanin-expressing MSC was inhibited by recombinant soluble CLEC-2. Thus, podoplanin may enhance the migratory capacity of tissue-resident MSC and enable novel interactions with cells expressing CLEC-2.
Deficiency of Fhl2 leads to delayed neuronal cell migration and premature astrocyte differentiation
Authors: Kim Soung Yung , Völkl Simon , Ludwig Stephan , Schneider Holm , Wixler Viktor , Park Jung
Published: February 2019

The four and a half LIM domains protein 2 (Fhl2) is an adaptor protein capable of mediating protein–protein interactions. Here, we report for the first time phenotypic changes in the brain of Fhl2-deficient mice. We showed that Fhl2 is expressed in neural stem cells, precursors and mature cells of neuronal lineage. Moreover, Fhl2 deficiency leads to delayed neuroblast migration in vivo, premature astroglial differentiation of neural stem cells (NSCs) in vitro, and a gliosis-like accumulation of glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP)-positive astrocytes in vivo that substantially increases with age. Collectively, Fhl2-deficiency in the brain interrupts the maintenance and the balanced differentiation of adult NSCs, resulting in preferentially glial differentiation and early exhaustion of the NSC pool required for adult neurogenesis.