bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Anti-DLL4 Has Broad Spectrum Activity in Pancreatic Cancer Dependent on Targeting DLL4-Notch Signaling in Both Tumor and Vasculature Cells
Authors: Yen Wan-Ching , Fischer Marcus M. , Hynes Mark , Wu Jingjiang , Kim Edward , Beviglia Lucia , Yeung V. Pete , Song Xiaomei , Kapoun Ann M. , Lewicki John , Gurney Austin , Simeone Diane M. , Hoey Timothy
Published: September 2012

Purpose: We previously showed that targeting Delta-like ligand 4 (DLL4) in colon and breast tumors inhibited tumor growth and reduced tumor initiating cell frequency. In this report, we have extended these studies to pancreatic cancer and probed the mechanism of action in tumor and stromal cells involved in antitumor efficacy.

Experimental Design: Patient-derived pancreatic xenograft tumor models were used to evaluate the antitumor effect of anti-DLL4. To investigate the mechanism of action, we compared the activity of targeting DLL4 in tumor cells with an anti-human DLL4 antibody (anti-hDLL4) and in the host stroma/vasculature with an anti-mouse DLL4 antibody (anti-mDLL4). The effect of these antibodies on cancer stem cell frequency was examined by in vivo limiting dilution assays.

Results: The combination of anti-hDLL4 and anti-mDLL4 was efficacious in a broad spectrum of pancreatic tumor xenografts and showed additive antitumor activity together with gemcitabine. Treatment with either anti-hDLL4 or anti-mDLL4 delayed pancreatic tumor recurrence following termination of gemcitabine treatment, and the two together produced an additive effect. Anti-hDLL4 had a pronounced effect in reducing the tumorigenicity of pancreatic cancer cells based on serial transplantation and tumorsphere assays. In contrast, disruption of tumor angiogenesis with anti-mDLL4 alone or with anti-VEGF had minimal effects on tumorigenicity. Gene expression analyses indicated that anti-DLL4 treatment regulated genes that participate in Notch signaling, pancreatic differentiation, and epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition.

Conclusions: Our findings suggest a novel therapeutic approach for pancreatic cancer treatment through antagonism of DLL4/Notch signaling. Clin Cancer Res; 18(19); 5374–86. ©2012 AACR.
Assessing the impact of a heparin-induced thrombocytopenia protocol on patient management, outcomes and cost
Authors: Koerber John , Mehta Trupti , Forsyth Lisa , Conger Elizabeth , Corbets Lindsey , Mattson Joan , Smythe Maureen
Published: September 2012

Establishing the diagnosis of heparin induced thrombocytopenia (HIT) is challenging as laboratory tests for HIT vary in specificity and availability. As HIT suspicion far exceeds confirmation of diagnosis, overtreatment is an emerging concern. This pilot study evaluated the impact of a HIT Recognition and Management Protocol on direct thrombin inhibitor (DTI) prescribing, outcomes, and cost. The primary endpoint was DTI cessation within 12 hours of receipt of negative HIT serology. An observational cohort study using a pre-post design was performed. Sixty-one patients were in the pre-period (before implementation) and 46 in the post-period (after implementation). DTI therapy was discontinued within 12 hours of negative serology in 19.4% of pre-period patients compared to 40% of post-period patients, p=.058. DTI therapy was discontinued within 24 hours of receipt of a negative PF4/heparin ELISA more often in the post-period ; 7/23 (30.4%) pre-period patients versus 16/26 (61.5%) post-period patients, p <0.05. Protocol implementation resulted in a significant improvement in timely initiation of DTI therapy (within 12 hours of HIT antibody testing) in those with a moderate to high suspicion of HIT; 8/31 (25.8%) of pre-period patients versus 24/31 (77.4%) of post-period patients, p <0.0001. Thrombotic events occurred in significantly more patients in the pre-period as compared to the post-period; 21/61 (34.4%) versus 6/46 (13%), respectively, p = 0.01. Major bleeding was reduced by 6.6 % after protocol implementation. The projected annual cost savings from decreased inappropriate DTI use was over $450,000. Protocol implementation had a positive impact on DTI prescribing, outcomes and cost.
Myeloid Cell−Specific ABCA1 Deletion Protects Mice From Bacterial Infection
Authors: Zhu Xuewei , Westcott Marlena M. , Bi Xin , Liu Mingxia , Gowdy Kymberly M. , Seo Jeongmin , Cao Qiang , Gebre Abraham K. , Fessler Michael B. , Hiltbold Elizabeth M. , Parks John S.
Published: September 2012

Rationale:

ATP-binding cassette transporter A1 (ABCA1) plays a critical role in eliminating excess free cholesterol from tissues by effluxing cellular free cholesterol and phospholipids to lipid-poor apolipoprotein AI. Macrophage ABCA1 also dampens proinflammatory myeloid differentiation primary-response protein 88−dependent toll-like receptor signaling by reducing cellular membrane free cholesterol and lipid raft content, indicating a role of ABCA1 in innate immunity. However, whether ABCA1 expression has a role in regulating macrophage function in vivo is unknown.

Objective:

We investigated whether macrophage ABCA1 expression impacts host defense function, including microbial killing and chemotaxis.

Methods and Results:

Myeloid cell−specific ABCA1 knockout (MSKO) vs wild-type mice were infected with
Listeria monocytogenes
(Lm) for 36 hours or 72 hours before euthanasia. Lm-induced monocytosis was similar for wild-type and MSKO mice; however, MSKO mice were more resistant to Lm infection, with significantly less body weight loss, less Lm burden in liver and spleen, and less hepatic damage 3 days postinfection. In addition, Lm-infected MSKO mouse livers had: (1) greater monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 and macrophage inflammatory protein-2 expression; (2) more monocyte/macrophage infiltration; (3) less neutral lipid accumulation; and (4) diminished expression of lipogenic genes. MSKO macrophages showed enhanced chemotaxis toward chemokines in vitro and increased migration from peritoneum in response to lipopolysaccharide in vivo. Lm infection of wild-type macrophages markedly reduced expression of ABCA1 protein, as well as other cholesterol export proteins (such as ATP-binding cassette transporter G1 and apolipoprotein E).

Conclusions:

Myeloid-specific ABCA1 deletion favors host response to and clearance of Lm. Macrophage Lm infection reduces expression of cholesterol export proteins, suggesting that diminished cholesterol efflux enhances innate immune function of macrophages.
Examining the Link Between Parole Officers’ Bases of Power and Their Exercise of Power
Authors: Steiner Benjamin , Hester Rhys , Makarios Matthew D. , Travis Lawrence F.
Published: September 2012

Parole officers are responsible for supervising offenders conditionally released from prisons into communities. This structural arrangement creates a power relationship, with officers’ views providing the foundation for various bases of power and possibly influencing their exercise of discretionary power. This study is an examination of parole officers’ perceptions of their bases of power and whether those perceptions influenced officers’ use of their power to revoke offenders’ parole. Findings revealed that officers identified legitimate and reward power as the primary means by which they gain compliance; however, only legitimate power and expert power were linked to officers’ use of power.
From Hong Kong’s Capitalist Fundamentals to Singapore’s Authoritarian Governance: The Policy Mobility of Neo-liberalising Shenzhen, China
Authors: Zhang Jun
Published: September 2012

Shenzhen Special Economic Zone (SEZ) has been the flagship labouratory of Deng Xiaoping’s reform and open-door policy and the forerunner of China’s capitalist transformation. The initiation of the Shenzhen SEZ was driven by the imperative of political and economic survival along the state hierarchy and was informed by the international practices of export processing zones (EPZs). Shenzhen’s capitalist fundamentals, such as the commodification of land and labour, were largely established through imitating its ‘big master’ Hong Kong across the border. However, Shenzhen’s policy learning style has gradually shifted from laissez-faire Hong Kong to authoritarian Singapore, propelled by the aspiration, shared among policy-making party élites across China’s administrative hierarchy, of perpetuating the single-party rule. Theoretically, this paper demonstrates how policy mobility is shaped path-dependently by the pre-structured institutional/ideological regime, in what ways the idiosyncratic geographical/historical conjuncture matters, and why political representation and participation are crucial to policy selection and mutation.
Role of Information Asymmetry and Situational Salience in Reducing Intergroup Bias
Authors: Valenzuela Ana , Srivastava Joydeep
Published: September 2012

While majority of the literature documents the preponderance of social identity–related biases in favor of in-group members, this research investigates factors that may attenuate the bias. Examining intergroup bias within the realm of information availability and accessibility, this research highlights malleability of judgments and decisions as a function of social identity in both complete and incomplete information situations in the context of ultimatum games. Study 1 replicates the positive bias toward in-group members even in situations where individuals know that the counterpart is behaving unfairly. Study 2 shows that the intergroup bias is attenuated for relatively unfavorable offers in incomplete information situations. However, the intergroup bias is persistent for relatively favorable offers. Study 3 shows that making situational constraints salient also attenuates the intergroup bias for relatively favorable offers. Together, the findings identify conditions, based on information availability and accessibility, under which the intergroup bias can be corrected.
When the separation-individuation process goes awry
Authors: Kins Evie , Beyers Wim , Soenens Bart
Published: September 2012

Problematic separation-individuation has been conceptualized almost unilaterally as separation anxiety or as intolerance of being alone (i.e., dysfunctional dependence). However, as separation-individuation involves a dynamic interaction between independence and relatedness, it was argued in this study that disturbances in the separation-individuation process could manifest in at least two ways; that is, as dysfunctional dependence and as dysfunctional independence. In a sample of 232 emerging adults, we examined correlates and outcomes of the two types of dysfunctional separation-individuation. We found that both types were related in similar ways to depressive symptoms and a general measure of pathological separation-individuation. Yet they were associated differentially and in theoretically expected ways with: (a) dimensions of attachment (i.e., anxiety and avoidance); and (b) dimensions of personality that confer vulnerability to depression (i.e., dependency and self-criticism). In addition, person-centered results showed evidence for four groups of individuals with distinct profiles of separation-individuation (i.e., healthy, dysfunctional dependent, dysfunctional independent, and combined). Implications for clinical practice and future research are discussed.
Out of sight, out of mind? Prostitution policy and the health, well-being and safety of home-based sex workers
Authors: Hubbard Phil , Prior Jason
Published: September 2012

Policy discussions relating to the selling of sex have tended to fixate on two spaces of sex work: the street and the brothel. Such preoccupation has arguably eclipsed discussion of the working environment where most sex is sold, namely, the private home. Redressing this omission, this paper discusses the public health and safety implications of policies that fail to regulate or assist the ‘hidden population’ of sex workers, focusing on the experiences of home-based workers in Sydney, Australia. Considering the inconsistent way that Home Occupation Sex Services Premises (HOSSPs) are regulated in this city, this paper discusses the implications of selling sex beyond the gaze of the state and the law. It is concluded that working from home can allow sex workers to exercise considerable autonomy over their working practices, but that the safety of such premises must be carefully considered in the development of prostitution policy.
Policy environments and job loss: Lived experience of retrenched Australian automotive workers
Authors: Anaf Julia , Newman Lareen , Baum Frances , Ziersch Anna , Jolley Gwyneth
Published: September 2012

Job loss has negative consequences for health and evidence shows that the agency of workers experiencing job loss is affected by labour market and welfare policy. The policy environment into which workers emerge after losing their jobs strongly influences the way job loss and its aftermath is experienced. This article draws on findings from two waves of in-depth semi-structured interviews with 33 retrenched South Australian automotive workers. It discusses how, within the context of Australian welfare and industrial policy, workers experienced the consequences of mass job losses that occurred at Mitsubishi Motors during 2004 and 2005. Key findings include largely negative experiences associated with negotiating welfare-to-work policy, and a more precarious employment environment further entrenched under industrial relations policy. Job loss is both a personal and a structural story and we use an agency and structure perspective to examine how workers’ agency was enabled, but more often constrained, by policy.
Liberalism and Tradition in the Nineteenth-Century Balkans
Authors: Mishkova Diana
Published: September 2012

The article sets off from a discussion of some methodological and theoretical issues pertinent to the study of ideological and institutional transfer between “centre” and “periphery” in nineteenth-century Europe. While taking into account the asymmetry in radiation and reception, it probes into the (Balkan) periphery’s political and cultural agency in reformulating and re-institutionalizing the “western model.” Rather than simply tracing movements, flows and circulation – the conventional concern of the transnational approach – the focus is on studying the transformations which occur in the process. This makes it possible to highlight the dynamics and versatility of ideational and institutional selection, interpretation, adaptation and transformation (or subversion) – in brief, the process of re-signification of ideas and institutions. The article then proceeds by exemplifying this approach in two directions. First, it examines several main channels and agents of transfer to and within the Balkan periphery illuminative of the ways ideas, practices and institutions traveled and mutated in the course of their journey; second, it surveys several characteristic instances of transfer of liberal ideas and institutions in the Balkans focusing on their legitimization and “domestication” which underscore the semantic and functional reinterpretations of modernity and tradition in the process.
Psychometric Assessment of the Croatian Version of the Breastfeeding Self-Efficacy Scale–Short Form
Authors: Pavicic Bosnjak Anita , Rumboldt Mirjana , Stanojevic Milan , Dennis Cindy Lee
Published: September 2012

Background:

Many mothers find it difficult to breastfeed exclusively for the recommended 6 months postpartum. The Breastfeeding Self-Efficacy Scale–Short Form (BSES-SF) was developed to measure breastfeeding self-efficacy, an important predictor of breastfeeding outcomes.

Objective:

To translate and psychometrically assess the BSES-SF among women in Croatia.

Methods:

A convenience sample of 190 breastfeeding mothers was recruited from a Baby-Friendly hospital in Zagreb, Croatia. In-hospital mothers completed questionnaires that included the translated BSES-SF, Sense of Coherence Scale (SOC-13), and a demographic questionnaire. The follow-up questionnaires were administered to mothers at 1 and 6 months postpartum to determine their infant feeding method.

Results:

The mean total score of the Croatian version of the BSES-SF was 55 ± 7. The Cronbach α coefficient for internal consistency was 0.86, suggesting good reliability. In-hospital BSES-SF scores significantly predicted breastfeeding duration and exclusivity at 1 and 6 months postpartum, providing support for predictive validity. The BSES-SF scores were significantly correlated with the total SOC scores ( r = 0.32, P < .001) and the SOC subscales of comprehensibility ( r = 0.35, P < .001), manageability ( r = 0.26, P < .001), and meaningfulness ( r = 0.20, P = .005), providing support for construct validity.

Conclusion:

This study provides evidence that the translated version of the BSES-SF may be a valid and reliable measure of breastfeeding self-efficacy among postpartum women in Croatia.
Integrating Dark Humor and Compassion
Authors: Cain Cindy L.
Published: September 2012

In The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life, Goffman drew attention to the various ways that individuals present themselves across settings. One aspect of his discussion was the division of space into front and back regions. In this article, I use data from two years participant observation and forty-one interviews with hospice workers to examine the ways that workers identify as well as how they use those identities to account for discrepancies between front and back region behaviors. Front stage behaviors emphasize compassion, while backstage behaviors include dark humor, strategizing, and detachment. This article argues that workers create a hospice identity that emphasizes authentic emotional expression and enlightenment about death as a way to explain away discrepancies in behavior. This work challenges assumptions that fronts are only performances and that back regions are more authentic by showing how workers integrate the two into a professional sense of self.
Analysis and choice of representative drive cycles for light duty vehicles – case study for electric vehicles
Authors: Zaccardi Jean-Marc , Le Berr Fabrice
Published: September 2012

Since the homologation drive cycles are not all entirely representative of real everyday driving conditions, additional cycles must be used to properly quantify the energy consumption of electric vehicles. Three methodologies have been developed to objectively determine a limited number of additional drive cycles. The first methodology is based upon a simple comparison of velocity profiles expressed on the same time scale. The second is based on a correlation analysis of various statistical criteria defined for each cycle. Finally, the third methodology is based on an automatic clustering technique ( K-means algorithm). These three methodologies have been used to analyse 18 drive cycles including official homologation cycles used in Europe (NEDC), Japan (JC08) and in the US (FTP72), and transient non-official cycles representing real world driving patterns (Artemis, Hyzem and Eurev cycles). When applied to these cycles, all these approaches allow the identification of a reduced number of five representative cycles enabling an efficient characterization in terms of the performance of electric vehicles in urban, extra-urban and highway conditions.
Identifying Correlates of Stable Gang Membership
Authors: Melde Chris , Diem Chelsea , Drake Gregory
Published: September 2012

Extant research suggests that gang membership is a relatively brief experience for youth who get involved with such groups. The length of gang membership, however, has been found to increase the probability of problematic outcomes in both the short term and into early adulthood. Given the risks associated with stable gang membership, the current study adds to the limited research on factors associated with relatively long periods of membership in youth gangs. Using panel data from 140 self-reported gang members derived from a school-based evaluation study, the current analysis examines whether features of youth gangs, the reasons youth provide for joining gangs, the respondents’ place in the gang, along with involvement in violent behaviors after onset of gang membership are systematically associated with the length of gang careers. Results suggest that joining gangs for protection, increased victimization after initial gang involvement, and greater involvement in violent delinquency are significantly associated with stable gang membership. Youth who join a gang at older ages also report staying in gangs longer than average. Having joined a gang to make money, however, was significantly related with desisting from gang involvement within 1 year. Potential reasons for such findings are discussed.
Medical Manuscripts Impact of Hospice Enrollment on Cost and Length of Stay of a Terminal Admission
Authors: Weckmann Michelle T. , Freund Katherine , Bay Camden , Broderick Ann
Published: September 2012

Objective:

To determine whether hospice enrollment at the time of a terminal admission alters the length of stay (LOS) or costs compared with patients not enrolled in hospice.

Methods:

Retrospective chart review of all nontraumatic inpatient deaths of patients with a previous admission in the preceding 12 months at an academic hospital.

Results:

209 patients had a nontraumatic death and an admission in the year prior to the terminal admission. Patients enrolled in hospice had a shorter LOS ( P = .02) and lower cost ( P < .0001) than patients not enrolled at the time of their terminal admission.

Conclusions:

Enrollment in hospice during a terminal admission decreased cost and LOS. Hospice may be a way to provide more cost-effective, appropriate care to dying patients.
State Crime in the Street-Level Bureaucracy
Authors: Schoultz Isabel
Published: September 2012

On the basis of two points of departure: (1) no state has clean hands and (2) the types of crime a state commits vary with state formations, this article explores cases where the Swedish state and its agencies have been held responsible for some form of wrongdoing. Drawing on a total of 8,561 judgments issued against the state by agencies of control (the Parliamentary Ombudsman, the Chancellor of Justice, and the European Court of Human Rights), the study finds that most cases of substantive and procedural crime committed by the state are related to the street-level bureaucracy, where state officials working in public sector agencies interact with citizens in the course of their everyday employment. Further, the study finds that most of the judgments revolve around issues of particular accountability relating to the individual interests of the complainants and that only a relatively small portion involve complaints against the state in relation to general policies or general conduct. One overall conclusion is that the crimes committed by the Swedish welfare state involve acts of negligence rather than purposeful acts of repression, and that the offences primarily involve procedural rather than substantive wrongs. The results are interpreted as a function of both how state bureaucracy works and of the limited ability of the existing control mechanisms.
Free vibration analysis of classical single-story multi-bay planar frames
Authors: Mei C
Published: September 2012

This paper concerns free vibration analysis of single-story multi-bay planar frame structures. An exact analytical solution is obtained using a wave vibration approach, in which vibrations are described as waves propagating along uniform structural elements and are reflected and transmitted at structural discontinuities. The coupling effects between bending and longitudinal vibrations in the multi-bay frames are taken into account. Both natural frequencies and modeshapes are obtained. Numerical examples are presented along with comparisons to results available in the literature.
Adjusting Medicaid Managed Care Payments for Changes in Health Status
Authors: Fuller Richard L. , Goldfield Norbert I. , Averill Richard F. , Eisenhandler Jon , Vertrees James C.
Published: September 2012

Risk adjustment of managed care organization (MCO) payments is essential to avoid creating financial incentives for MCOs adopting enrollee selection strategies. However, all risk-adjustment methods have an inherent structural flaw that rewards preventable deterioration in enrollee health status and improved coding of disease burden. We propose a payment adjustment to offset this flaw. We use a database of 1,237,528 continuously enrolled beneficiaries to quantify the payment impact of change in enrollee health status over time for enrollees with two common chronic illnesses, hypertension and diabetes. The payment impact caused by the change in enrollee health status across MCOs ranged from +3.67% to −7.27% for enrollees with diabetes and from +5.25% to −7.69% for enrollees with hypertension. The MCO payment impact for diabetes and hypertension ranged from +0.19% to −0.31%. This difference can be used as the basis for creating payment incentives for MCOs to reduce the long-term costs of chronically ill enrollees.
Focusing on the Reader
Authors: Mersey Rachel Davis , Malthouse Edward C. , Calder Bobby J.
Published: September 2012

Satisfaction is commonly monitored by news organizations because it is an antecedent to readership. In fact, countless studies have shown the satisfaction–readership relationship to be true. Still, an essential question remains: Is satisfaction the only, or even the critical, thing to focus on with readership? This research indicates that the answer is no. Two other related constructs, reader experiences and engagement, affect reader behavior even more than does satisfaction. The discussion provides examples of how to increase engagement and calls for experimental research to understand how news organizations can positively affect engagement and thereby readership.
Need and Potential Use of Information Technology for Case Manager–Physician Communication in Home Care
Authors: Ruggiano Nicole , Shtompel Natalia , Hristidis Vagelis , Roberts Lisa , Grochowski Julie , Brown Ellen L.
Published: September 2012

Case management has become a popular model for providing home care services to nursing home-eligible older adults. To maximize collaborative decision making and patient outcomes, members of the case management team must engage in ongoing, open communication. However, little is known about the quality of communication between home care case managers and their clients’ physicians. This study examined geriatric home care case managers’ perceptions of their communication with their clients’ physicians. Participating case managers were employed at two large home care agencies located in the South Florida region. The findings suggest that communication between home care case managers and physicians is limited and inefficient. Implication for policy and practice are provided. Finally, we propose ways to leverage Information Technology to bridge this communication gap.
Responding to Climate Change
Authors: Stuart Diana , Schewe Rebecca L. , McDermott Matthew
Published: September 2012

The authors apply Ulrich Beck’s theory of reflexive modernization to examine how farmers in the United States perceive and respond to climate change. Using a case study, the authors identify diversions from Beck’s original theory and explore the importance of social constructionist and political economy perspectives. The article focuses on corn farmers in southwestern Michigan to examine climate risk recognition and reflexive responses, concentrating on the role of nitrogen fertilizer as a significant source of greenhouse gas emissions. Results from interviews, focus groups, and a mail survey indicate that dualistic worldviews and exposure to limited and/or biased information can inhibit farmers from acknowledging climate change as a risk. In addition, structural barriers inhibit farmers from reducing nitrogen fertilizer application in response to climate change. These findings offer insights applicable to climate change mitigation efforts and also demonstrate the importance of both social constructionist and political economy perspectives to identify barriers to reflexive modernization.
Closing the Gender Gap
Authors: Cohen Dale J. , White Sheida , Cohen Steffaney B.
Published: September 2012

This study analyzed the current state of the gender literacy gap and the change in the gender literacy gap between 1992 and 2003, using the 1992 National Adult Literacy Survey (NALS) and the 2003 National Assessment of Adult Literacy (NAAL). The results revealed that although there were significant gender literacy gaps in 1992, virtually all male-paramount literacy gaps (males obtaining higher scores than females) disappeared in the 2003 survey. Much of this gain can be ascribed to more women participating in higher education. Variations in literacy gap changes by race (Black and White) and educational attainment were also investigated.
IMF conditionality and the economic exposure of its shareholders
Authors: Breen Michael
Published: September 2012

There is substantial evidence that International Monetary Fund policies are driven by the powerful states which intervene to align policy with their preferences. In particular, many have argued that the United States uses its position as the Fund’s largest shareholder to achieve its foreign policy objectives. As a result, a substantial volume of literature argues and presents evidence to support the claim that International Monetary Fund decisions faithfully reflect US interests. My findings extend these claims. Using a new dataset on the presence in International Monetary Fund agreements of binding conditions, which cause the agreement to be suspended or terminated if they are not met, I demonstrate that International Monetary Fund agreements contain fewer binding conditions when a suspension of International Monetary Fund lending plausibly would impose greater hardship on creditor country banks and exporters.
Framing and praising Allah on YouTube: Exploring user-created videos about Islam and the motivations for producing them
Authors: Mosemghvdlishvili Lela , Jansz Jeroen
Published: September 2012

Islam is a hotly debated topic on YouTube, comprising approximately a half-million videos, tagged with this word. The study presents empirical material regarding three aspects of Islam’s representation: (a) how Islam is framed in user-created videos; (b) how it is visualized; and (c) what are the motivations of the YouTubers who create these videos. The theoretical framework of the study is based on two pillars. The concept of valence framing was employed to identify positive/negative patterns of representation. The motivations to videoblog about Islam were examined from the perspective of the Uses and Gratifications Theory. Data comprised a content analysis of 120 videos and 15 in-depth interviews with content producers. Despite a number of extremely attacking videos about Islam, the overall tone of the coverage appeared to be balanced. However, images and ideas that are inappropriate for broadcasting on mainstream media repeatedly appear on this website.
A phenomenological model of two circular turbulent jets
Authors: Faghani Ehsan , Rogak Steven N
Published: September 2012

A semi-analytical model for the interaction of twin circular jets is developed, requiring the solution of a second-order differential equation for the momentum balance. This model (‘Bending Model’) can predict the trajectory and the attachment of two jets. Using Reichardt’s hypothesis, the three-dimensional velocity field of dual-hole circular jets can be predicted. The model is used to predict the interaction of converging, diverging, parallel and non-equal jets. The results show encouraging agreement with k–ε numerical simulations and experimental results from the literature. The position of the maximum velocity is predicted to within 5%, and the model can predict the velocity field as well as the k–ε model. The current model can be useful in phenomenological engine simulation of multi-hole injectors.
An investigation of the effects of fuel injection pressure, ambient gas density and nozzle hole diameter on surrounding gas flow of a single diesel spray by the laser-induced fluorescence–particle image velocimetry technique
Authors: Zhu Jingyu , Kuti Olawole Abiola , Nishida Keiya
Published: September 2012

The characteristics of ambient gas motion induced by a single diesel spray were measured quantitatively by using a laser-induced fluorescence–particle image velocimetry technique under non-evaporating quiescent conditions. The effects of fuel injection pressure, ambient gas density and nozzle hole diameter on the ambient gas mass flow rate into the spray through the whole spray periphery (spray side periphery and tip periphery) were investigated quantitatively according to the gas flow velocity measurements. The results show that the captured gas mass flow rate through the spray tip periphery is prominent in the whole periphery and the proportion of the gas entrainment through the spray side periphery increases with spray development. The higher injection pressure significantly enhances the total gas mass flow rate through the whole periphery; however, the increase in the ratio of ambient gas and fuel mass flow rate becomes moderate gradually with the increase in the injection pressure. The higher ambient gas density results in a slight increase in ambient gas flow velocity along the spray side periphery and the tip periphery and a reduction of the spray volume; however, the ambient gas mass flow rate was apparently enhanced. The smaller nozzle hole diameter results in a significant decrease in the ambient gas mass flow rate and an increase in the ratio of the gas and fuel mass flow rate. Numerical simulation results provide more understanding of the spray-induced gas flow field and validate the measurement accuracy of the laser-induced fluorescence–particle image velocimetry results.
Emotion and allegiance in researching four mid- 20th-century cases of women accused of murder
Authors: Seal Lizzie
Published: September 2012

This article examines methodological issues of emotion and allegiance in relation to researching, from archival sources, gender representation in mid-20th-century cases of women accused of murder. Through a discussion of four women’s cases, I explore this as a deeply ambivalent experience because the research induced both empathic and negative feelings towards the women. This seemed to conflict with my aims as a feminist researcher to highlight derogatory constructions of gender in the criminal justice system. I argue that a reflexive approach is necessary in order to carry out sensitive archival research and conclude that negotiating the attendant ambivalence and complexity deepens ethical engagement.
The Fourth Plinth: creating and contesting national identity in Trafalgar Square, 2005–2010
Authors: Sumartojo Shanti
Published: September 2012

Since 1999 the Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square has seen the installation of a range of contemporary artworks that have prompted a national discussion about national identity, tolerance, diversity and history in the context of Trafalgar Square. This article explores aspects of the narrative around the Fourth Plinth scheme since 2005 to discuss the relationship between different versions of national identity and public place, and how the use of historical narratives can shore up contemporary versions of national identity.
Morgan Freeman’s Black Male Body as Unforgiven
Authors: Alexander Bryant Keith
Published: September 2012

This short introductory reflection focuses on the image of Morgan Freeman’s dead body in the 1992 Western remake of the movie Unforgiven. The performance is part eulogy, effigy, and epitaph for the raced body (of color) in Westerns.
Endovascular Repair of a Streptococcus pneumonia-Induced Aortitis Complicated by an Iliacocaval Fistula
Authors: Buimer Mathijs G. , Bloemsma Gijsbert C. , van Oostayen Jacques A. , Reijnen Michel M. P. J.
Published: September 2012

Purpose: To describe the successful endovascular treatment and follow-up of a patient with a Streptococcus pneumonia-induced right iliacocaval fistula. Case report: A 82-year-old man was diagnosed with a right iliacocaval fistula, as a result of Streptoccocus pneumoniae infection of the distal aorta and proximal right common iliac artery. After antibiotic treatment, he was initially unsuccessfully treated with balloon expandable covered stents. Then, the fistula was excluded by an aortamonoiliac endograft to the left common iliac artery, and occluders in the distal and proximal right common iliac artery followed by a femoral–femoral crossover bypass. Postoperatively patient was treated with prolonged antibiotics. After a follow-up of 20 months, there are no signs of active infection, endoleak, or fistula, both clinically and on 2-deoxy-2-[F18]fluoro-d-glucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography. Conclusion: In selected patients, complicated infectious disease of the aorto-iliac tract may be treated successfully with an endograft and prolonged antibiotics.
Effect of Preoperative Aneurysm Diameter on Long-Term Survival After Endovascular Aortic Aneurysm Repair
Authors: Tsilimparis Nikolaos , Mitakidou Danae , Hanack Ulrich , Deussing Astrid , Yousefi Shahram , Rückert Ralph I.
Published: September 2012

Objective: To investigate the effect of aneurysm size on long-term survival after endovascular repair (EVAR) of abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAAs). Methods: Retrospective study of all consecutive patients treated with EVAR for AAA at a single institution. Results: One hundred and nineteen patients (mean age 71, range 45-91) underwent EVAR during a 4-year period. The mean maximal aneurysm diameter was 58 mm (range 34-93 mm). Mean follow-up was 34 months (range 1-80). Cox regression analysis after controlling for age, renal function, coronary disease, and smoking showed a 4.9-fold higher risk of death for patients with preoperative aneurysm size ≥60 mm as compared to patients with aneurysm size <60 mm. No aneurysm-related deaths occurred during the follow-up. Conclusion: This present study provides evidence that aneurysm size ≥60 mm is independently associated with worse survival during follow-up.
Surgical Options in Lumbar Hernia
Authors: Moreno-Egea Alfredo , Alcaraz Andres C. , Cuervo Marian C.
Published: September 2012

Objective. To determine the safety and effectiveness of laparoscopic lumbar hernia repair. Design. Prospective clinical study. Setting. Abdominal wall unit, university hospital. Patients. Between January 1995 and December 2008, data from 55 consecutive patients who had undergone laparoscopic (n = 35) or open (n = 20) lumbar hernia repair. Main Outcome Measures. The primary endpoint was recurrence; secondary endpoints were patient outcomes (morbidity, pain, and return to normal activity). Results. Mean operating time ( P = .01), hospital stay, return to normal activity, analgesic consumption, and pain at 1 month ( P < .001) were significantly less in the laparoscopic group. Complications were similar in the 2 groups (37% vs 40%, respectively; P = .50). Traumatic hernias increased local complications versus incisional lumbar hernias (71.4% vs 29%; P = .007). Consumption of analgesics (6.8 ± 6.5 vs 18.1 ± 9.1; P < .001) and pain during the first month (no pain: 90% vs 54.3%; P = .015) were significantly less with a lightweight versus medium-weight mesh. The risk factors associated with recurrences development were localization ( P = .01) and size ( P = .008). Recurrence rates were 2.9% in the laparoscopic group and 15% in the open group ( P = .13). Conclusions. Outcomes did not differ with respect to morbidity and recurrence rate after long-term follow-up; however, this study suggested that laparoscopic approach for lumbar hernia is safe, effective, and more efficient than open repair and can be considered the procedure of choice. Open surgery may be considered the best option in the diffuse hernias with size larger than 15 cm.
Increased Femoral Cartilage Thickness in Patients With Klinefelter Syndrome
Authors: Inci Mehmet , Akgul Ozgur , Baydilli Numan , Ekmekcioglu Oguz , Özgöçmen Salih
Published: September 2012

The objective of this study was to determine femoral cartilage thickness (FCT) in patients with Klinefelter syndrome (KS), which is the most common sex chromosome disorder in men with varying degrees of androgen deficiency. This cross-sectional controlled study was conducted in a tertiary care center. Participants were 33 male patients (mean age = 36.2 years) with KS and 35 aged-matched healthy male controls (mean age = 32.9 years). Femoral condyle cartilage was measured by ultrasonography at three locations in each knee. Total testosterone, estradiol, sex hormone binding globulin, free androgen index, bioavailable testosterone, and albumin levels were measured. Femoral cartilage of patients at right and left knee lateral (3.03 and 2.99 mm), mid (3.81 and 3.74 mm), and medial (3.01 and 3.20 mm) were statistically thicker than in controls (right and left knee lateral 2.29 and 2.36 mm, mid 2.64 and 2.53 mm, medial 2.39 and 2.32 mm, respectively, p < .001). There was no significant correlation between FCT and sex hormones. In conclusion, patients with KS had thicker femoral cartilage. Relatively low testosterone levels in these patients and altered estrogen metabolism may hypothetically explain increased cartilage thickness in these patients.
Herpesvirus infections of the central nervous system in immunocompromised patients
Authors: Meyding-Lamadé Uta , Strank Cornelia
Published: September 2012

Human herpesviruses may cause infections of the central nervous system during primary infection or following reactivation from a latent state. Especially in immunosuppressed patients the infection can take a life-threatening course, and therefore early diagnosis of herpesvirus-associated neurological diseases should have high priority. Clinical presentation in these patients is usually without typical features, making diagnosis even more challenging. Therefore general broad testing for different herpesviruses in cerebrospinal fluid samples is highly recommended. In addition, determination of the virus DNA level in the cerebrospinal fluid by quantitative assays seems to be of high importance to determine prognosis. Moreover, it might help to differentiate between specific virus-associated disease and unspecific presence of virus in the cerebrospinal fluid, especially in immunocompromised patients. Polymerase chain reaction analysis of cerebrospinal fluid has revolutionized the diagnosis of nervous system viral infections, particularly those caused by human herpesviruses. This review summarizes the role human herpesviruses play in central nervous system infections in immunocompromised patients, with a focus on the clinical manifestation of encephalitis.
Endocytosis of soluble immune complexes leads to their clearance by FcγRIIIB but induces neutrophil extracellular traps via FcγRIIA in vivo
Authors: Chen Kan , Nishi Hiroshi , Travers Richard , Tsuboi Naotake , Martinod Kimberly , Wagner Denisa D. , Stan Radu , Croce Kevin , Mayadas Tanya N.
Published: September 2012

Soluble immune complexes (ICs) are abundant in autoimmune diseases, yet neutrophil responses to these soluble humoral factors remain uncharacterized. Moreover, the individual role of the uniquely human FcγRIIA and glycophosphatidylinositol (GPI)–linked FcγRIIIB in IC-mediated inflammation is still debated. Here we exploited mice and cell lines expressing these human neutrophil FcγRs to demonstrate that FcγRIIIB alone, in the absence of its known signaling partners FcγRIIA and the integrin Mac-1, internalizes soluble ICs through a mechanism used by GPI-anchored receptors and fluid-phase endocytosis. FcγRIIA also uses this pathway. As shown by intravital microscopy, FcγRIIA but not FcγRIIIB-mediated neutrophil interactions with extravascular soluble ICs results in the formation of neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) in tissues. Unexpectedly, in wild-type mice, IC-induced NETosis does not rely on the NADPH oxidase, myeloperoxidase, or neutrophil elastase. In the context of soluble ICs present primarily within vessels, FcγRIIIB-mediated neutrophil recruitment requires Mac-1 and is associated with the removal of intravascular IC deposits. Collectively, our studies assign a new role for FcγRIIIB in the removal of soluble ICs within the vasculature that may serve to maintain homeostasis, whereas FcγRIIA engagement of tissue soluble ICs generates NETs, a proinflammatory process linked to autoimmunity.
Transcription and translation are primary targets of Pim kinase inhibitor SGI-1776 in mantle cell lymphoma
Authors: Yang Qingshan , Chen Lisa S. , Neelapu Sattva S. , Miranda Roberto N. , Medeiros L. Jeffrey , Gandhi Varsha
Published: September 2012

Proviral integration site for Moloney murine leukemia virus (Pim) kinases are serine/threonine/tyrosine kinases and oncoproteins that promote tumor progression. Three isoforms of Pim kinases have been identified and are known to phosphorylate numerous substrates, with regulatory functions in transcription, translation, cell cycle, and survival pathways. These kinases are involved in production, proliferation, and survival of normal B cells and are overexpressed in B-cell malignancies such as mantle cell lymphoma (MCL). SGI-1776 is a small mol-ecule and Pim kinase inhibitor with selectivity for Pim-1. We hypothesize that Pim kinase function can be inhibited by SGI-1776 in MCL and that inhibition of phosphorylation of downstream substrates will disrupt transcriptional, translational, and cell cycle processes and promote cell death. SGI-1776 treatment in 4 MCL cell lines resulted in apoptosis induction. Phosphorylation of transcription (c-Myc) and translation targets (4E-BP1), tested in Jeko-1 and Mino, was declined. Consistent with these data, Mcl-1 and cyclin D1 protein levels were decreased. Importantly, similar to cell line data, MCL primary cells but not normal cells showed similar inhibition of substrate phosphorylation and cytotoxicity from SGI-1776 treatment. Genetic knockdown of Pim-1/Pim-2 affected similar proteins in MCL cell lines. Collectively these data demonstrate Pim kinases as therapeutic targets in MCL.
IL-7–producing stromal cells are critical for lymph node remodeling
Authors: Onder Lucas , Narang Priyanka , Scandella Elke , Chai Qian , Iolyeva Maria , Hoorweg Kerim , Halin Cornelia , Richie Ellen , Kaye Paul , Westermann Jürgen , Cupedo Tom , Coles Mark , Ludewig Burkhard
Published: September 2012

Nonhematopoietic stromal cells of secondary lymphoid organs form important scaffold and fluid transport structures, such as lymph node (LN) trabeculae, lymph vessels, and conduits. Furthermore, through the production of chemokines and cytokines, these cells generate a particular microenvironment that determines lymphocyte positioning and supports lymphocyte homeostasis. IL-7 is an important stromal cell-derived cytokine that has been considered to be derived mainly from T-cell zone fibroblastic reticular cells. We show here that lymphatic endothelial cells (LECs) are a prominent source of IL-7 both in human and murine LNs. Using bacterial artificial chromosome transgenic IL-7–Cre mice, we found that fibroblastic reticular cells and LECs strongly up-regulated IL-7 expression during LN remodeling after viral infection and LN reconstruction after avascular transplantation. Furthermore, IL-7–producing stromal cells contributed to de novo formation of LyveI-positive lymphatic structures connecting reconstructed LNs with the surrounding tissue. Importantly, diphtheria toxin–mediated depletion of IL-7–producing stromal cells completely abolished LN reconstruction. Taken together, this study identifies LN LECs as a major source of IL-7 and shows that IL-7–producing stromal cells are critical for reconstruction and remodeling of the distinct LN microenvironment.