bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Onyx embolization of a pial AV fistula with a giant venous varix using a flow-directed Scepter balloon catheter: Technical note
Authors: Griffin Andrew S , Befera Nicholas , Hauck Erik
Published: June 2018

Background and importance

Pial arteriovenous fistulas (AVFs) of the brain are treacherous lesions that can be challenging to treat because of high risk of hemorrhage. We report on a rare case of a pial AVF with a giant venous varix as a draining vein treated successfully with flow-directed balloon-assisted Onyx embolization.

Clinical presentation

A 56-year-old female with headaches underwent brain magnetic resonance imaging, which demonstrated a 4 cm aneurysmal malformation in the right temporal lobe. A diagnostic cerebral angiogram demonstrated a right temporal pial AVF fed by an enlarged right posterior cerebral artery with drainage into a giant venous varix. Onyx embolization was curative using a flow-directed Scepter balloon catheter.

Conclusion

Flow-directed balloon-assisted Onyx embolization can be highly successful for the curative embolization of pial AVFs. Balloon application changes the nature of the lesion from high-flow–high risk to no-flow–low-risk. Using a flow-directed technique with balloon microcatheters may help minimize the risk of intracranial vascular injury.
A vine copula–based method for analyzing the moment-independent importance measure of the multivariate output
Authors: Zhou Yicheng , Lu Zhenzhou , Shi Yan , Cheng Kai
Published: June 2018

The moment-independent importance measure technique for exploring how uncertainty allocates from output to inputs has been widely used to help engineers estimate the degree of confidence of decision results and assess risks. Solving the Borgonovo moment-independent importance measure in the presence of the multivariate output is still a challenging problem due to “curse of dimensionality,” and it is investigated in this contribution. For easily estimating the moment-independent importance measure, a novel method based on the vine copula is proposed. In the proposed method for estimating moment-independent importance measure, three steps are included. First, the moment-independent importance measure is expressed as a product of bivariate copula density functions through the vine copula trees. Second, the marginal probability density functions are obtained by the maximum entropy under the constraint of the fractional moments. Finally, the post-processed is executed to directly estimate the moment-independent importance measure by estimated copula density functions. The proposed method can handle multivariate output easily. The results of several examples indicate the validity and benefits of the proposed method.
Scandal and the Work of Art: The Nude in an Aesthetically Inflected Sociology of the Arts
Authors: Alexander Victoria D , Bowler Anne E
Published: June 2018

American sociologists working in the production perspective have produced a rich body of work on systems of aesthetic-cultural production, distribution, and consumption, but they have paid relatively little attention to the work of art. Aligning with new sociological work that takes the work of art seriously, this article contributes to an aesthetically inflected sociology of the arts: research that includes the work of art as an integral part of the analysis. Substantively, we examine a 19th-century scandal surrounding paintings of nudes. We show that the work of art constitutes crucial evidence for understanding arts scandals. Artworks are connected with social and aesthetic issues by means of their pictorial elements, which are viewed by a public through historically situated ‘period eyes’. Each of these elements is needed to spark an arts controversy, and all must be studied in order to understand them.
Evaluation of Four HbA1c Point-of-Care Devices Using International Quality Targets: Are They Fit for the Purpose?
Authors: Lenters-Westra Erna , English Emma
Published: June 2018

Background:

Point-of-care (POC) testing is becoming increasingly valuable in health care delivery, and it is important that the devices used meet the same quality criteria as main laboratory analyzers. While external quality assessment (EQA) provides a great tool for assessing quality, many POC devices are not enrolled in these schemes and standard laboratory evaluations are needed to assess performance.

Methods:

The Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) protocols EP-5 and EP-9 were applied to investigate imprecision, accuracy and bias. We assessed bias using the mean of 4 certified secondary reference measurement procedures (SRMPs).

Results:

The Afinion2™ and the Quo-Lab had CVs of ≤1.7 and ≤2.4% respectively in IFCC SI units (≤1.2 and ≤1.7% NGSP) and a bias ≤2 mmol/mol (≤0.2% NGSP) at 48 and 75 mmol/mol (6.5 and 9.0% NGSP). Sigma for the Afinion2 was 5.8 and for the Quo-Lab 4.0. Both methods passed the NGSP criteria with 2 instruments when compared with 4 individual SRMPs. The HbA1c 501 had a CV of 3.4% and 2.7% in IFCC SI units (2.1% and 1.7% NGSP) and a bias ≤2.4 mmol/mol (≤0.2% NGSP) and passed the NGSP criteria with 2 instruments compared with 4 individual SRMPs except for instrument 2 compared with the Tosoh G8. Sigma was 2.1. The A1Care had a sigma of 1.4 and failed all criteria mainly due to a high CV (6.2% and 4.1% in IFCC SI units [4.1% and 2.9% NGSP] at 48 and 75 mmol/mol [6.5 and 9.0% NGSP]).

Conclusions:

The analytical performance was excellent for the Afinion2 and the Quo-Lab, acceptable for the HbA1c 501 and unacceptable for the A1Care according to different used criteria, demonstrating that whilst performance is improving there are still areas for considerable improvement.
Nursing Unit Design, Nursing Staff Communication Networks, and Patient Falls: Are They Related?
Authors: Brewer Barbara B. , Carley Kathleen M. , Benham-Hutchins Marge , Effken Judith A. , Reminga Jeffrey
Published: June 2018

Purpose:

The purpose of this research is to (1) investigate the impact of nursing unit design on nursing staff communication patterns and, ultimately, on patient falls in acute care nursing units; and (2) evaluate whether differences in fall rates, if found, were associated with the nursing unit physical structure (shape) or size.

Background:

Nursing staff communication and nursing unit design are frequently linked to patient safety outcomes, yet little is known about the impact of specific nursing unit designs on nursing communication patterns that might affect patient falls.

Method:

An exploratory longitudinal correlational design was used to measure nursing unit communication structures using social network analysis techniques. Data were collected 4 times over a 7-month period. Floor plans were used to determine nursing unit design. Fall rates were provided by hospital coordinators.

Results:

An analysis of covariance controlling for hospitals resulted in a statistically significant interaction of unit shape and size (number of beds). The interaction occurred when medium- and large-sized racetrack-shaped units intersected with medium- and large-sized cross-shaped units.

Conclusion:

The results suggest that nursing unit design shape impacts nursing communication patterns, and the interaction of shape and size may impact patient falls. How those communication patterns affect patient falls should be considered when planning hospital construction of nursing care units.
New Mining Concessions Could Severely Decrease Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services in Ecuador
Authors: Roy Bitty A. , Zorrilla Martin , Endara Lorena , Thomas Dan C. , Vandegrift Roo , Rubenstein Jesse M. , Policha Tobias , Ríos-Touma Blanca , Read Morley
Published: June 2018

Ecuador has among the world’s highest biodiversity, despite being a tiny fraction of the world’s land area. The threat of extinction for some of this biodiversity has dramatically increased since April 2016, during which time the Ecuadorian government has opened around 13% of the country to mining exploration, with many of the concessions in previously protected forests. Herein, we describe the system of protected lands in Ecuador, their mining laws, and outline the scale of threat by comparing the mammals, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and orchids from several now threatened protected areas, classed as “Bosques Protectores,” in the northwestern montane cloud forests. Together, these reserves form a buffer and a southern corridor for the still-protected Cotacachi-Cayapas Ecological Reserve, which is otherwise now surrounded by mining concessions. We gathered published literature, “gray literature,” information from reserve records and websites, and our previously unpublished observations to make comparative species tables for each reserve. Our results reveal the potential losses that mining could cause: eight critically endangered species, including two primates (brown-headed spider monkey and white-fronted capuchin), 37 endangered species, 153 vulnerable, 89 near threatened, and a large number of less threatened species. Our data show that each reserve protects a unique subset of taxa in this region of highly localized endemics and the reserves also generate sustainable income for local people. The short-term national profits from mining will not compensate for the permanent biodiversity losses, and the long-term ecosystem service and economic losses at the local and regional level.
Do Self-Reported Traits and Aggregated States Capture the Same Thing? A Nomological Perspective on Trait-State Homomorphy
Authors: Rauthmann John F. , Horstmann Kai T. , Sherman Ryne A.
Published: June 2018

Convergent correlations between traits and state aggregates from experience sampling cannot fully establish trait-state homomorphy (the extent to which the same constructs are measured). With a nomological vector correlation and lens model approach, we test how similar nomological networks of traits and state aggregates are to each other: A trait and state-aggregate capture the same construct when both show highly similar nomological associations to a common set of correlates. In large experience sampling ( N = 209) and life-logging studies ( N = 298), Extraversion, Conscientiousness, and Agreeableness tended to show more and Openness, Honesty/Humility, and Neuroticism/Emotionality tended to show less trait-state homomorphy. However, these general findings differed somewhat at the aspect level, with Neuroticism and Extraversion aspects tending to show more versus Openness and Honesty/Humility aspects tending to show less homomorphy. The proposed nomological approaches can be flexibly applied to other traits, states, and correlates.
A Brief, Distance-Based Intervention Can Increase Intentions to Follow Evidence-Based Guidelines in Cancer Screening
Authors: Ledgerwood Alison , Wakslak Cheryl J. , Sánchez Amber M. , Rees Heather R.
Published: June 2018

Although research findings are increasingly accessible to the public, people may choose to rely on anecdotal over evidence-based information when making important decisions. Thus, a key challenge facing the scientific community is to develop effective strategies for increasing people’s reliance on research evidence in their decision-making. Focusing on the critical context of cancer-screening decisions, we find that a brief, distance-based intervention can influence people’s intentions to follow evidence-based rather than anecdotal information. Specifically, in a preregistered and well-powered experiment ( N = 224), participants who set a screening schedule for the next 10 years before considering a decision for an upcoming appointment were more inclined to follow the implications of evidence-based screening guidelines (vs. an anecdote), compared to participants who only considered the upcoming appointment. The success of this distance-based intervention represents an important first step in translating decades of laboratory research on distance into practical interventions for more complex and consequential decisions.
A framework for digital media literacies for teaching and learning in higher education
Authors: Reyna Jorge , Hanham Jose , Meier Peter Charles
Published: June 2018

Across a broad range of subjects in higher education institutions, students are required to complete assessment tasks that involve the production of digital artefacts. Examples include podcasts, digital stories, animations, video and blended media. To produce effective digital artefacts, one must be digitally literate. This requires a certain set of technical, audio-visual, behavioural, critical and social skills. In this article, the authors propose a framework that can be used to develop digital media literacies and train students in digital media creation. The framework considers three interdependent domains: conceptual, functional and audio-visual. A series of examples will be provided to illustrate the importance and interdependent nature of these domains. Implications of the framework on student training are discussed.
Pulmonary arteriovenous malformations in children with hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia: a longitudinal study
Authors: Mowers Katie L. , Sekarski Lynne , White Andrew J. , Grady R. Mark
Published: June 2018

Pulmonary arteriovenous malformations (PAVMs) often occur in children with hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia (HHT). A 14‐year longitudinal study of PAVMs in children with HHT was undertaken to assess the prevalence, the clinical impact, and progression of these malformations. This was a retrospective, single‐center study from May 2002 to December 2016 of 129 children with HHT diagnosed using Curacao criteria and/or confirmed by genetic testing. Transthoracic contrast echocardiography (TTCE) was the primary screening modality in all patients and PAVMs were diagnosed based on Barzilai criteria. Moderately positive TTCE (Barzilai criteria ≥ 2) was confirmed with subsequent contrast chest CT. New PAVMs were diagnosed with a positive TTCE after an initial negative TTCE. Embolization of PAVMs were performed according to HHT consensus guidelines. Of 129 children with HHT, 76 (59%) were found to have PAVMs. Sixty‐seven (88%) were positive for PAVMs on initial screening. Of 63 children without PAVMs on initial screening, 31 were followed for >1 year. Nine of the 31 (29%) developed new PAVMs after initial negative study. Thirty‐eight (50%) of the total 76 children with PAVMs had or developed lesions large enough to be treated with embolization. Nine patients with PAVMs initially too small to be treated with embolization, developed progression of disease and ultimately were treated with embolization over time. The majority, 60% (23/38), of the children with large PAVMs had no related clinical symptoms. After embolization, 21% (8/38), of patients underwent repeat interventions. Genetic diagnosis, age, and gender were not associated with risk of having PAVM nor with need for repeat interventions. Nearly 60% of children with HHT develop PAVMs. The risk for new PAVMs to develop, small PAVMs to become large, and previously embolized PAVMs to require further intervention remains throughout childhood. Thus, children with HHT require continued follow‐up until adulthood.
Pyoderma gangrenosum–like ulceration of the lower extremity secondary to sunitinib therapy: a case report
Authors: Lopez Pineiro Mildred , Willis Eric , Yao Chen , Chon Susan Y
Published: June 2018

Sunitinib is a multi-targeted receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor used for the treatment of multiple different types of malignancies. Serious grade 3–4 adverse events occur in <10% of the patient population and usually improve with dose reduction. One of the more rarely reported side effects of sunitinib therapy is the development of pyoderma gangrenosum–like ulcerations in the lower extremities. These pyoderma gangrenosum–like ulcerations are difficult to treat and distinguish from similar-appearing dermatological diagnoses. We present a patient with refractory lung carcinoma and a past medical history of squamous cell carcinoma of the lower extremity, who developed a non-healing ulceration at the previous site of her skin cancer while undergoing therapy with sunitinib. At the time of the initial evaluation, the ulceration mimicked recurrent squamous cell carcinoma, posing a diagnostic challenge. Histopathological findings showed epidermal hyperplasia, ulceration, and dense acute inflammation. Despite meticulous wound care and treatment of infection, the ulcer only improved with cessation of sunitinib.
Mobile health and the performance of maternal health care workers in low- and middle-income countries: A realist review
Authors: Abejirinde Ibukun-Oluwa Omolade , Ilozumba Onaedo , Marchal Bruno , Zweekhorst Marjolein , Dieleman Marjolein
Published: June 2018

Introduction

Maternal health and the performance of health workers is a key concern in low- and middle-income countries. Mobile health technologies are reportedly able to improve workers’ performance. However, how this has been achieved for maternal health workers in low-resource settings is not fully substantiated. To address this gap by building theoretical explanations, two questions were posed: How does mobile health influence the performance of maternal health care workers in low- and middle-income countries? What mechanisms and contextual factors are associated with mobile health use for maternal health service delivery in low- and middle-income countries?

Methods

Guided by established guidelines, a realist review was conducted. Five databases were searched for relevant English language articles published between 2009 and 2016. A three-stage framework was developed and populated with explanatory configurations of Intervention–Context–Actors–Mechanism–Outcome. Articles were analyzed retroductively, with identified factors grouped into meaningful clusters.

Results

Of 1254 records identified, 23 articles representing 16 studies were retained. Four main mechanisms were identified: usability and empowerment explaining mobile health adoption, third-party recognition explaining mobile health utilization, and empowerment of health workers explaining improved competence. Evidence was skewed toward the adoption and utilization stage of the framework, with weak explanations for performance outcomes.

Conclusions

Findings suggest that health workers can be empowered to adopt and utilize mobile health in contexts where it is aligned to their needs, workload, training, and skills. In turn, mobile health can empower health workers with skills and confidence when it is perceived as useful and easy to use, in contexts that foster recognition from clients, peers, or supervisors.
Determining Reasons for Lower Participation of Women in Indian Stock Market: A Comparative Study of Stock Investors and Non-investors
Authors: Vohra Tina , Kaur Mandeep
Published: June 2018

Today’s age is the age of the modern woman. Women these days have become more successful than ever before. While the success of women has translated into more wealth creation, it has also translated into additional challenges related to their everyday family life and most importantly related to their spending and investment decisions. Therefore, an attempt has been made to identify the factors inhibiting women from participating in the stock market in India and to find out the relative importance of these factors in determining the stock market participation among women. The data for the study were collected from primary sources using a pre-tested, well-structured questionnaire. Factor Analysis and Binary Logistic Regression have been used to analyze the collected data. The findings of the study revealed that financial hindrances, personal constraints, attitudinal constraints and gender stereotypes are reasons that inhibit women from investing in the stock market. Among the factors identified, financial hindrances were found to have the highest influence as a reason for lower participation of women. The article suggests that the policy makers need to design programs for the economic development of women because it is primarily on account of financial hindrances that women lag behind when it comes to investing in the stock market.
Lack of cross-cultural validity of the Endometriosis Health Profile-30
Authors: Verket Nina Julie , Andersen Marit Helen , Sandvik Leiv , Tanbo Tom Gunnar , Qvigstad Erik
Published: June 2018

Introduction:

The Endometriosis Health Profile-30 is a disease-specific patient-reported outcome measure of health-related quality of life. Cross-cultural validation of the Endometriosis Health Profile-30 has been performed for several translated versions. The aim of this study was to evaluate the measurement properties of a Norwegian version Endometriosis Health Profile-30.

Methods:

This study was designed as a cross-sectional anonymous postal questionnaire study. A total of 157 women with endometriosis were included during a period from 2012 to 2013. Women aged 18–45 years were recruited from the Norwegian Endometriosis Association. Principal components analysis with varimax rotation was used to assess construct validity. Short Form-36 was used to determine convergent validity. Cronbach’s alpha was used to measure internal consistency. Intraclass correlation coefficients and paired t-tests were used to evaluate test–retest reliability. Floor and ceiling effects were estimated.

Results:

Factor analysis resulted in a three and five-factor model for the core and modular questionnaire, respectively. Factor analysis could not support construct validity of the scales self-image and treatment. The Norwegian version Endometriosis Health Profile-30 demonstrated acceptable internal consistency and test–retest reliability, except for the scale relationship with children. Floor effects were observed for the scales self-image (20.1%), work life (33.9%), relationship with children (34.2%), and medical profession (20.5%).

Conclusion:

The construct self-image does not seem to be measured appropriately by the Norwegian version Endometriosis Health Profile-30, suggesting a lack of cross-cultural validity of the Endometriosis Health Profile-30. With multinational studies increasing, adequate translation, cross-cultural adaptation, and cross-cultural validation of instruments are essential to ensure equivalence in languages and cultures other than the original.
Japan and the Middle East: An Overview
Authors: Choudhury Srabani Roy
Published: June 2018

As an introduction to this special issue, this article examines the shaping of Japan’s foreign policy; looking at how Japan has risen to the demand of the international community to assume more responsibility in conflict situations, circumventing a pacifist constitution that it had been dealt with. It then explains relations between Middle East and Japan and shows how the latter has been balancing its national interest in order to conform to its alliance with the United States. With more Asian powers having stake in the Middle East, Japan has become proactive about its role in the region. However, with limited hard power options, Japan would have to concentrate on its soft power capabilities and on using its economic strength to mark its presence in the Middle East.
Geopolitics of Conflicts and Refugees in the Middle East and North Africa
Authors: Ullah AKM Ahsan
Published: June 2018

Geopolitically intertwined and strategically significant refugee policy in the MENA region is frequently analyzed in light of well-documented ethnic, religious, class, and border conflicts. However, the policy is also inexorably linked to the broader geopolitics of the global refugee protection regime and discourse. This article analyzes the complex relationship between geopolitics, domestic political dynamics, and their attendant crises in the MENA region. The complex set of political shockwaves of the Arab Spring induced massive mobility of people which may compound incipient political tensions between and within MENA states.
The State of IP protection, Exploitation and Valuation: Evidence from Select Indian Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs)
Authors: Singh Sumanjeet
Published: June 2018

There is a plethora of literature to support the significance of intellectual property rights (IPRs) in modern organisations in deterring potential infringement of new ideas and in turning them into productive business value. Larger-sized firms attach tremendous value to their intellectual property (IP), whereas in the case of the micro, small and medium enterprise (MSME) sector, much more than a value game, IP rights have strategic importance, as this sector requires constant creativity and innovation to adapt to fast-changing market conditions, short product life cycles and intense market competition. Many of the Indian MSME units rely heavily on their in-house R&D laboratories/personnel, complex designs, unique methods, artistic work, distinctive brand names and innovation ability. They create and use IP assets which range from patents to trademarks, copyrights and industrial designs. Therefore, proper protection, exploitation and valuation of these assets have become more and more critical for the success of Indian MSMEs in the global economy. In this light, the present study aims to examine the practices used by a selected group of Indian MSMEs with regard to IP usage, protection, and exploitation and valuation aspect. In this process, the study also investigates the problems or constraints that resist these firms to exercise such IP management-related practices.
Emergent Success Factors for Entrepreneurial E-media Companies
Authors: Tsourvakas George , Riskos Kyriakos
Published: June 2018

The present study investigates the factors that positively influence the efficacy of e-media business models. Taking into consideration the extant literature that mentions the ineffectiveness of the subscription model, we try to investigate new factors that contribute to the success of e-media business models. Based on previous research, we examine the following five factors: specific content, innovation, multiple revenue sources, interactivity and media brand communities. In-depth case study analysis of three successful e-media companies is conducted in order to define whether each of the factors is considerable for e-media business models or not. Our results indicate that specific content, innovation, interactivity and media brand communities constitute significant features for e-media models while multiple source revenues are not a necessary factor for success. Finally, based on our results, various suggestions are proposed for entrepreneurial companies.
Review of several precision finishing processes for optics manufacturing
Authors: Ghosh Gourhari , Sidpara Ajay , Bandyopadhyay P. P.
Published: June 2018

The ultrasmooth optical components with atomic-order surface roughness and nanometre-level shape accuracy are in immense demand with the rapid advancement of modern optical technology. In recent years, aspherical and free-form surfaces are gaining more interest for its favorable properties. Moreover, the new optical materials with immensely enhanced mechanical properties are being developed to meet the stringent requirements of modern optics. Fabrication of complex-shaped ultrasmooth optical components becomes a significant challenge as conventional finishing techniques are unable to machine aspherical or free-form surfaces precisely. This situation demands some highly deterministic finishing processes. Mostly, the optical components are fabricated by shaping or pre-finishing methods followed by final finishing processes. In the shaping or pre-finishing methods, the rigid abrasive tools are used to remove the material at an enhanced rate and near net shape of the elements can be attained. Surface finish and shape accuracy can also be improved to some extent. Owing to the presence of residual finishing marks generated by shaping methods, the application of the components is limited to the infrared (IR) optics. Final finishing processes include more deterministic and flexible polishing techniques that can achieve desired surface finish, figure accuracy and surface integrity to make it suitable for shorter wavelength applications. In recent years, single point diamond turning, precision grinding, plasma chemical vaporization machining and magnetorheological fluid-based finishing are widely used for fabricating ultrasmooth optics. In this article, principle, mechanism of material removal and applicability of the aforementioned precision finishing processes to different materials are discussed.
RETRACTED ARTICLE: LncGPR107 drives the self-renewal of liver tumor initiating cells and liver tumorigenesis through GPR107-dependent manner
Authors: Huang Guanqun , Jiang Hui , Lin Ye , Xia Wuzheng , Luo Yuanwei , Wu Yanpeng , Cai Weilong , Zhou Xinke , Jiang Xianhan
Published: June 2018

Background

With self-renewal and differentiation properties, liver tumor initiating cells (TICs) are the reasons for tumor initiation, metastasis and drug resistance. G protein coupled receptors (GPCR) are critical modulators in many physiological and pathological processes. While, their roles in liver TICs are unknown.

Methods

An unbiased screening was performed using online-available data dataset. Liver TICs were sorted by FACS with surface marker CD133, or enriched by oncosphere formation. TIC self-renewal was examined by oncosphere formation and tumor initiation assay. Loss of function and gain of function assays were performed to examine the role of lncRNA. RNA pulldown, RNA immunoprecipitation, ChIP, western blot and double FISH were used explore the molecular mechanism of lncRNA.

Results

We performed an unbiased screening for GPCR expression in liver cancers, and found GPR107 was the most highly expressed GPCR in liver cancer and liver TICs. GPR107 was essential for the self-renewal of liver TICs. The expression of GPR107 was regulated by a long noncoding RNA lncGPR107. LncGPR107 was also highly expressed in liver cancers and liver TICs. LncGPR107 drove the self-renewal of liver TICs through GPR107. Moreover, lncGPR107 recruited SRCAP complex to GPR107 promoter to drive its transcriptional activation. LncGPR107 depletion inhibited the binding of SRCAP complex and GPR107 promoter and subsequent GPR107 expression. Moreover, LncGPR107-SRCAP-GPR107 can be targeted for liver TIC elimination.

Conclusion

GPR107 was the most highly expressed GPCR in liver cancer and liver TICs. LncGPR107 participated in the transcriptional regulation of GPR107 in cis, through recruiting SRCAP remodeling complex to GPR107 promoter. This work revealed the important role of GPCR signaling in liver TIC self-renewal and added a new layer for liver TIC and GPCR regulation.
The RASopathy Family: Consequences of Germline Activation of the RAS/MAPK Pathway
Authors: Tajan Mylène , Paccoud Romain , Branka Sophie , Edouard Thomas , Yart Armelle
Published: June 2018

Noonan syndrome [NS; Mendelian Inheritance in Men (MIM) #163950] and related syndromes [Noonan syndrome with multiple lentigines (formerly called LEOPARD syndrome; MIM #151100), Noonan-like syndrome with loose anagen hair (MIM #607721), Costello syndrome (MIM #218040), cardio-facio-cutaneous syndrome (MIM #115150), type I neurofibromatosis (MIM #162200), and Legius syndrome (MIM #611431)] are a group of related genetic disorders associated with distinctive facial features, cardiopathies, growth and skeletal abnormalities, developmental delay/mental retardation, and tumor predisposition. NS was clinically described more than 50 years ago, and disease genes have been identified throughout the last 3 decades, providing a molecular basis to better understand their physiopathology and identify targets for therapeutic strategies. Most of these genes encode proteins belonging to or regulating the so-called RAS/MAPK signaling pathway, so these syndromes have been gathered under the name RASopathies. In this review, we provide a clinical overview of RASopathies and an update on their genetics. We then focus on the functional and pathophysiological effects of RASopathy-causing mutations and discuss therapeutic perspectives and future directions.
A Randomized Trial of Continuous Noninvasive Blood Pressure Monitoring During Noncardiac Surgery
Authors: Maheshwari Kamal , Khanna Sandeep , Bajracharya Gausan Ratna , Makarova Natalya , Riter Quinton , Raza Syed , Cywinski Jacek B. , Argalious Maged , Kurz Andrea , Sessler Daniel I.
Published: June 2018

BACKGROUND:

Intraoperative hypotension is associated with postoperative mortality. Early detection of hypotension by continuous hemodynamic monitoring might prompt timely therapy, thereby reducing intraoperative hypotension. We tested the hypothesis that continuous noninvasive blood pressure monitoring reduces intraoperative hypotension.

METHODS:

Patients ≥45 years old with American Society of Anesthesiologists physical status III or IV having moderate-to-high-risk noncardiac surgery with general anesthesia were included. All participating patients had continuous noninvasive hemodynamic monitoring using a finger cuff (ClearSight, Edwards Lifesciences, Irvine, CA) and a standard oscillometric cuff. In half the patients, randomly assigned, clinicians were blinded to the continuous values, whereas the others (unblinded) had access to continuous blood pressure readings. Continuous pressures in both groups were used for analysis. Time-weighted average for mean arterial pressure <65 mm Hg was compared using 2-sample Wilcoxon rank-sum tests and Hodges Lehmann estimation of location shift with corresponding asymptotic 95% CI.

RESULTS:

Among 320 randomized patients, 316 were included in the intention-to-treat analysis. With 158 patients in each group, those assigned to continuous blood pressure monitoring had significantly lower time-weighted average mean arterial pressure <65 mm Hg, 0.05 [0.00, 0.22] mm Hg, versus intermittent blood pressure monitoring, 0.11 [0.00, 0.54] mm Hg (P = .039, significance criteria P < .048).

CONCLUSIONS:

Continuous noninvasive hemodynamic monitoring nearly halved the amount of intraoperative hypotension. Hypotension reduction with continuous monitoring, while statistically significant, is currently of uncertain clinical importance.
The Expression of Time (Spinoza, Deleuze, Cinema)
Authors: Casarino Cesare
Published: June 2018

This essay investigates the absent presence of Baruch Spinoza’s thought in Gilles Deleuze’s Cinema 1: The Movement-Image and Cinema 2: The Time-Image and argues that the concept of expression—as articulated by Deleuze in his study on Spinoza, Expressionism in Philosophy, as well as in his Logic of Sense—constitutes the crucial condition of possibility of Deleuze’s philosophical theory of the cinema and, in particular, of his twofold understanding of cinema as medium of expression and of cinema as expression of time.
Read Yourself!
Authors: Biddick Kathleen
Published: June 2018

Centered on the opening scene of reading staged by Giorgio Agamben in his study of reading machines, The Open: Man and Animal, this article considers how Agamben’s own messianic reading of an illuminated page from a medieval Ashkenazi Bible (Biblioteca Ambrosiana MSS B 30–32) erases the entangled biopolitical histories of medieval Ashkenazi Jews and their Christian sovereigns. What happens if we read the distinctive animal-headed Jews peopling medieval Ashkenazi manuscripts of Bibles and Haggadot dated to the thirteenth and early fourteenth centuries, not in a messianic mode but in the temporal mode of biopolitical bare life? What is the temporal structure of precarious life? Furthermore, how does this Ashkenazi figural tradition of animal-headed Jews point to forms of resistance to the biopolitics of medieval Christendom? How is messianic theory now unconsciously entangled in modes of temporality of precarious life, then?
Face Value (the Prosopa of Money)
Authors: Szendy Peter
Published: June 2018

“Face value,” according to the OED, is “the value printed or depicted on a coin, banknote, ticket, etc., especially when less than the actual value.” But we could hear in this expression an imperative—“face value!”—an injunction to consider value face to face, that is, prosopon pros prosopon. Prosopon, the Greek word for mask, gave rise to the rhetorical figure of prosopopoeia (prosopon poiein: to confer a mask or a face). A striking occurrence of prosopopoeia is found in the eighteenth-century British genre called “it-narrative,” in which inanimate things speak and recount their life narrative. The first of these novels—Charles Gildon’s Golden Spy (1702)—gives voice to a bunch of coins. And the genre becomes self-reflexive when money starts to “coin words,” like the autobiographical protagonist of The Adventures of a Bank-Note (1770). Drawing on ancient sources, contemporary art, and readings of Nietzsche, Marx, and Levinas, the article attempts to formulate the following question: Why does money need a mask?
Climate Trauma, or the Affects of the Catastrophe to Come
Authors: Richardson Michael
Published: June 2018

The climate catastrophe to come is traumatically affecting, whether in its micro and macro manifestations, in the threat it poses to existing ways of life, in its upending of entrenched understandings of the workings of the world, or in the injury it is doing to particular lives and wider ecologies. It works on ecologies and bodies alike as a kind of wounding, one not simply or solely to the everyday stuff of biological life but to the very constitution of experience and expression. Critiquing and extending writing on climate, trauma, and aesthetic experience by E. Ann Kaplan (2016), Timothy Morton (2013), and others, this article argues that these affects of climate catastrophe are traumatically affecting without necessarily being traumatizing: they are jarring, rupturing, disjunctive experiences of future crisis in the now. This article traces these affects of apocalypse as they circulate traumatically in three texts: George Miller’s film Mad Max: Fury Road (2015), Marina Zurkow’s animation Slurb (2009), and Briohny Doyle’s novel The Island Will Sink (2016). Climate catastrophe, that most threatening yet elusive of hyperobjects, marks and emerges irresistibly from within these works, not simply as theme, setting, or symbol but as the form of their affectivity. This intensity presses into the present from the future, shaping how the catastrophe to come is felt today and exposing crucial tensions between aesthetic expression and lived experience.
Octopamine signaling in the metazoan pathogen S
chistosoma mansoni: localization, small-molecule screening and opportunities for drug development
Authors: El-Sakkary Nelly , Chen Steven , Arkin Michelle R. , Caffrey Conor R. , Ribeiro Paula
Published: June 2018

Schistosomiasis is a tropical disease caused by a flatworm trematode parasite that infects over 200 million people worldwide. Treatment and control of the disease rely on just one drug, praziquantel. The possibility of drug resistance coupled with praziquantel's variable efficacy encourages the identification of new drugs and drug targets. Disruption of neuromuscular homeostasis in parasitic worms is a validated strategy for drug development. In schistosomes, however, much remains to be understood about the organization of the nervous system, its component neurotransmitters and potential for drug discovery. Using synapsin as a neuronal marker, we map the central and peripheral nervous systems in the Schistosoma mansoni adult and schistosomulum (post-infective larva). We discover the widespread presence of octopamine (OA), a tyrosine-derived and invertebrate-specific neurotransmitter involved in neuromuscular coordination. OA labeling facilitated the discovery of two pairs of ganglia in the brain of the adult schistosome, rather than the one pair thus far reported for this and other trematodes. In quantitative phenotypic assays, OA and the structurally related tyrosine-derived phenolamine and catecholamine neurotransmitters differentially modulated schistosomulum motility and length. Similarly, from a screen of 28 drug agonists and antagonists of tyrosine-derivative signaling, certain drugs that act on OA and dopamine receptors induced robust and sometimes complex concentration-dependent effects on schistosome motility and length; in some cases, these effects occurred at concentrations achievable in vivo. The present data advance our knowledge of the organization of the nervous system in this globally important pathogen and identify a number of drugs that interfere with tyrosine-derivative signaling, one or more of which might provide the basis for a new chemotherapeutic approach to treat schistosomiasis.

This article has an associated First Person interview with the first author of the paper.
Clinical application of high frequency jet ventilation in stereotactic liver ablations – a methodological study
Authors: Galmén Karolina , Freedman Jacob , Toporek Grzegorz , Goździk Waldemar , Harbut Piotr
Published: June 2018

Background: Computer-assisted navigation during thermal ablation of liver tumours, may help to correct needle placement and improve ablation efficacy in percutaneous, laparoscopic and open interventions. The potential advantage of using high frequency jet-ventilation technique (HFJV) during the procedure is by minimising the amplitude of respiration-related upper-abdominal organs movements. The aim of this clinical methodological trial was to establish whether HFJV would give less ventilatory induced liver movements than conventional ventilation, during stereotactic navigated ablation of liver metastases under open surgery.

Methods: Five consecutive patients scheduled for elective, open liver ablation under general propofol and remifentanil anaesthesia were included in the study protocol. During the stereotactic targeting of the tumours, HFJV was chosen for intraoperative lung ventilation. For tracking of liver movement, a rigid marker shield was placed on the liver surface and tracked with an optical position measurement system. A 4D position of the marker shield was measured for HFJV and conventional tidal volume lung ventilation (TV). At each time point the magnitude of liver displacement was calculated as an Euclidean distance between translational component of the marker shield's 3D position and previously estimated centroid of the translational motion.

Results: The mean Euclidean liver displacement was 0.80 (0.10) mm for HFJV and 2,90 (1.03) mm for TV with maximum displacement going as far as 12 mm on standard ventilation (p=0.0001).

Conclusion: HFJV is a valuable lung ventilation method for patients undergoing stereotactic surgical procedures in general anaesthesia when reduction of organ displacement is crucial.
Formation and Development of Mentality
Authors: Губанов Н. , Gubanov N. , Губанов Н. , Gubanov N.
Published: June 2018

It is shown that the anthropological paradigm "biological — social" is outdated, since it represents a person as a passive product of the genotype and social environment, while ignoring the personal factor — the freedom of the will of man. The necessity of transition to a new anthropological paradigm "biological – social – personal" is grounded, according to which a person is not a biosocial but a biopsychosocial being. According to the new paradigm, the formation of the mentality is determined by three factors: hereditary predispositions, socio-cultural conditions, the free will of man, manifested in his spiritual activity and choice of ways of behavior. The main reasons for the historical development of the mentality are self-determination of the person, the interaction of social systems in the social structure, changes in the economic and political sphere of society, changes in the social structure of society and the social basis of the bearers of mentality.
O confinamento jovem no filme “Maze Runner”: cultura e pedagogia tecnocapitalística
Authors: Gomes Greice Rosane , Farina Cynthia
Published: June 2018

Resumo: Este artigo trata de alguns processos de subjetivação na contemporaneidade que se dão na inter-relação entre juventude e cinema. Voltado à leitura do filme “Maze Runner”, a pesquisa coloca em conversa os conceitos de sociedades disciplinares (Foucault) e sociedades de controle (Deleuze). O artigo foi construído com base no método cartográfico, e o referencial teórico utilizado é norteado prioritariamente pelos autores já mencionados, além de Sibilia e Rolnik. As principais temáticas envolvidas são processos de formação, capitalismo mundial integrado, cartografia, juventude e cinema.Palavras-chave: Cinema. Juventude. Subjetivação.
Estimating Energy Costs of Nonbeneficial Dryer Operation by Using a Peanut Drying Monitoring System
Authors: Lewis Micah A. , Trabelsi Samir , Nelson Stuart O.
Published: June 2018

Abstract. Knowledge of kernel moisture content during peanut drying is important to ensure that the bed of peanuts is dried appropriately. However, the lack of a commercially available, industry-accepted solution for real-time kernel moisture content determination during peanut drying makes its detection cumbersome and laborious. Samples of unshelled peanuts are extracted from the semitrailer by an operator periodically, and the samples have to be cleaned and shelled to determine kernel moisture content with the official meter. A peanut drying monitoring system that includes a microwave kernel moisture sensor, developed within the USDA ARS, provides a means for monitoring in-shell kernel moisture content in real-time. The system determines kernel moisture content with a standard error of prediction (SEP) of 0.55% moisture content when compared to the reference oven-drying method. During recent peanut harvest seasons, peanut drying monitoring systems were placed in 13.7-m (45-ft) drying semitrailers, one 3 m (10 ft) from the front of the trailer and the other 3 m (10 ft) from the back of the trailer. As the peanuts dried, pod and kernel moisture content, temperature of the drying peanuts, temperature and relative humidity of the air exhausted from the peanuts, and temperature and relative humidity of the air being blown into the peanuts were measured every 12 seconds. The continuous data, provided by the monitoring systems, were useful in observing the loss of moisture by the peanuts throughout drying. The data also revealed periods of at least 3 hours during which dryer operation did not result in loss of moisture from the peanuts; thus, identifying nonbeneficial dryer operation. Such periods cause a peanut buying point to accumulate unnecessary expenses for propane and/or electric energy which can total up to $3,250 annually for an average-size buying point. Keywords: Dielectric properties, Energy cost, In-shell kernel moisture content, Microwave sensing, Peanut drying, Real-time monitoring, Sensors.
Water Supply Rates for Recirculating Evaporative Cooling Systems
Authors: Purswell Joseph L. , Linhoss John E. , Edge Carson M. , Davis Jeremiah D. , Campbell Jesse C.
Published: June 2018

Abstract.

Evaporative cooling (EC) is an important tool to reduce heat stress in animal housing systems. Expansion of ventilation capacity in tunnel ventilated poultry facilities has resulted in increased water demand for EC systems. As water resources become more limited and costly, proper planning and design of water supply systems is critical to ensure demand is met during periods of heat stress which increase EC use and bird water consumption. Few estimates of EC water use in animal housing applications are available in the literature and available estimates are geographically limited or rely on extreme weather events. The goal of this analysis was to provide guidance for EC water supply design to accommodate estimates of peak demand, rather than average consumption rates. Keywords: Ventilation, Broiler house, Water conservation, Housing design.