bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Ex Ante vs. Ex Post
Authors: Wittman Donald A.
Published: May 2017

Sometimes the sequence of events is important for establishing rights and obligations, and sometimes it is not. For example, if a nuisance was there before the neighbouring residences arrived, the nuisance is sometimes allowed to continue in the same location under the doctrine of coming to the nuisance. When and why should the doctrine be (or not be) upheld? While many concepts in law and economics do not explicitly have a time dimension, once we start thinking about ex ante versus ex post, a large number of seemingly unrelated areas of the law involve similar issues of sequence. When new regulations are imposed, sometimes pre-existing businesses are exempt and sometimes not. In accident law, negligent behaviour by the first actor may require the second actor to take action beyond the ordinarily efficient actions as can be seen in the doctrine of last clear chance. What is the underlying rational for the application of this rule? Rights typically go to the highest bidder, but at 4-way stop signs, rights are granted according to who was there first. In other areas involving traffic, being first accedes to other criteria such as majority rule. As a final example, priority in bankruptcy gives the right to the first creditor of the same secured debt, but not to the first creditor of unsecured debt. Why? This article presents an efficiency-based framework for answering these questions.
A History of the Neuropsychology of Impaired Attention
Authors: Mirsky Allan F. , Duncan Connie C. , French Louis M.
Published: May 2017

The history of attention studies in neuropsychology is in many ways a history of all of neuropsychology. Many clinical groups have been studied, and there has been extensive research aimed at relating aspects of attentive behavior to underlying brain structures. In addition, models of the different components of attention have been proposed, dating back nearly 40 years. This review, by nature and necessity selective, begins with early descriptions of symptoms seen in clinical groups and discusses more recent findings, including impaired attention in various disorders, the possible etiology(ies) of impaired attention, and behavioral and psychophysiological studies of attention. Also reviewed are animal models of attention and attention disturbance, the neuroanatomical bases of attention, and speculations on the relation between our concepts of attention and consciousness.
Class and Sport
Authors: Siegelbaum Lewis H. , Siegelbaum Sasu
Published: May 2017

The history of sport can be considered an arena in which struggles over ways of doing things have worked themselves out, sometimes to the advantage of one class but occasionally to the benefit—or detriment—of more than one class. Sport has its antitheses—amateur versus professional, competitive versus noncompetitive, the individual versus the team—each of which contains class dimensions. In this chapter, players, fans, owners, governing bodies, and the media are treated as representatives, projections, or embodiments of classes and class fractions, struggling amongst themselves and occasionally against each other. The chapter emphasizes the formative influence of Great Britain and its class structure from the Industrial Revolution onward on the emergence of specific sports, the codification of rules, leagues, and fan bases. It analyzes the complex and sometimes contradictory nature of players as workers, their representation, and the particular dynamics between class and fan affinities.
Introduction
Authors: Edelman Robert , Wilson Wayne
Published: May 2017

This chapter presents the state of the burgeoning scholarly field of sport history and points to what remains to be done. Scholars have increasingly have found sports to be a subject that can help answer the major questions facing historians of all sorts. Once a domain of unadorned empiricism, sports history today mobilizes complex and sophisticated social and cultural theories to derive a vast range of meanings. Additionally, the familiar categories of class, race, gender, nation, and religion can all be used to understand sport, and in turn sport can provide new understandings of those same categories. The study of sport has been enhanced by the historical profession’s cultural turn that has made numerous once marginal subjects the objects of serious and rigorous scrutiny. This collection seeks to introduce this field to academics who are considering studying this subject and general readers who are seeking a guide to further reading.
Sport History and the Historical Profession
Authors: McDonald David
Published: May 2017

This chapter addresses the paradox that, despite its prevalence in national and global cultures, sport fails to receive due attention from historians interested in the problem of “modernity.” Yet, the history of sport’s rise to its current place in popular culture, combined with its boundedness as phenomenon, serves as a powerful lens on the intersecting processes that historians have identified as the hallmarks of this modernity—economic transformation, urbanization, the invention of “traditions,” and the construction of coexisting and disparate identities, not to mention broader vectors of social change encompassed in the parallel projects of domestic amelioration and the colonial “civilizing mission,” along with their nationalist and globalist or neoimperial successors. The chapter offers a broad overview in the career of sport as reflections of modernizing processes that have long interested historians while suggesting that sport’s history also complicates many of these historical perspectives.
The “Somatic/Linguistic Turn” and Histories of Exercise and Sport
Authors: Gruneau Richard
Published: May 2017

This chapter examines the turn to the body that occurred in sport history in the late twentieth century, tracing its connections to the emergence of structuralism in postwar French social theory. Focusing on the work of Pierre Bourdieu and Michel Foucault, the chapter argues that the “somatic turn” in sport history drew inspiration from an accompanying linguistic turn in French social theory and philosophy. As part of this discussion, the chapter discusses studies of the body in sport history influenced by Bourdieu and Foucault and concludes with some issues, problems, and implications of the somatic/linguistic turn in current historical research.
South Asian Sport
Authors: Majumdar Boria
Published: May 2017

The first part of this chapter deals with the histories of South Asian/Indian cricket while the second part deals with Olympic sporting histories, a very recent addition to South Asian/Indian sports scholarship. It aims to reiterate that the story of Indian cricket cannot pass as the story of Indian sport. Cricket in contemporary South Asia and more so in India is imbued with a frenzied sense of hyper-nationalistic jingoism and is certainly one of the strongest of contemporary Indian allegiances. If only India or for that matter Pakistan, Sri Lanka, or Nepal had done well in Olympic sports, the popularity and commercial currency of international cricket would surely be under threat. Yet stories of failure on the Olympic stage, often for reasons unconnected to sport, help us understand postcolonial South Asia and more specifically India better.
Diffusion and Transformation of Western Sports in North Asia
Authors: Guthrie-Shimizu Sayuri
Published: May 2017

This chapter tracks the diffusion of Western-style athletic culture in Japan and Korea since the late nineteenth century. It argues that modern teach sport was introduced to Japan and Korea by British and American educators and Christian missionaries. Many Western team sports were introduced to North Asia by the YMCA. Japan sought excellence in Olympic sports before World War II as evidence of its modernity. Sport served in Korea as a mechanism for expressing anticolonial nationalism. After World War II, economic growth enabled both nations to allocate more resources to excellence in elite sport. Hosting the Asian Games and the Olympics were considered by both Japan and Korea as a stepping-stone to achieving first-class nation status and international recognition.
Sport in Latin America
Authors: Elsey Brenda
Published: May 2017

Sport forms existed in Latin American in the pre-Columbian period. European empires adopted and modified indigenous cultural activities while introducing new sports. Sport development was not homogenous as local conditions and specific colonial and commercial interests shaped sport’s growth. Despite these disparate patterns of development, it is generally true that the rise in nationalism facilitated the diffusion of sport in Latin America, as local associations formed in response to invitations sent by sportsmen from abroad-seeking competitors. Football enjoyed the most expansive growth in South American, while baseball grew in the Caribbean in Cuba and the Dominican Republic. Women’s access to sport has been a persistent issue in Latin America. The racial diversity of the region also has created an ongoing negotiation of racial hierarchies in sport. Sport in Latin American serves as an arena where participants perform citizenship and create understandings of civil rights.
The Changing Field of Sports History in Australasia
Authors: Osmond Gary
Published: May 2017

This chapter focuses on sport historiography in Australia and New Zealand, with three broad aims: to survey historic and historiographic developments, to consider the historiographical predominance of team ball sports, and to chart new and emerging directions. While sport had long formed part of popular discourse in both countries, in the 1980s historians began to analyze sport comprehensively, and the decades since have witnessed a substantial growth in sports historiography produced by academic scholars. Research has had a particular focus on certain sports, especially cricket, rugby, and Australian Rules football, which has been problematic in terms of its exclusivity and yet generative of important scholarly discussion and debate. New research directions, especially those emerging from an increased engagement with the cultural turn in the past decade, have yielded important studies into the fields of affect, bodies, materiality, visuality, and other areas new or rare in sports history.
Sport and Urbanization
Authors: Friedman Michael T. , Bustad Jacob
Published: May 2017

Since the start of the nineteenth century, the processes of urban development and the development of modern sport have been dialectically linked. With critical masses of potential participants, spectators, and media, the city provided the necessary ingredients for the development of sport as a structured activity and viable enterprise. With concerns over the social and public health impacts of rapid urbanization, sport helped to shape urban growth through the development of major metropolitan parks; the creation of small parks, playgrounds, and gymnasiums; the provision of resources for recreation; and the placement of facilities for spectator sports. To better understand the dialectical relationship between sport and urbanization, this chapter focuses on two time periods: 1800–1870 and 1870–1940. The period between 1800–1870 was a time of rapid change with both cities and sport developing into their modern forms. The period between 1870–1940 evinces a more instrumental relationship between sport and the city.
Gender Matters in Sport History
Authors: Vertinsky Patricia
Published: May 2017

Feminist sport historians have worked hard to bring women in from the accumulated (and imagined) histories of sport. This chapter outlines the various ways in which feminist sport historians have approached the institution of sport as a key site for the development of a critical feminist scholarship on gender. It traces the development over time of gender-sensitive sport histories alert to new forms of gender and to multiple forms of historical expression with attention to the precarious performance of gender and the ever-shifting politics of the sporting body in time and space. It also suggests avenues for future research in for sport historians of gender.
Sports and Sexuality
Authors: Jensen Erik N.
Published: May 2017

This chapter explores the intersection between athletic practices and sexual expression, primarily in the Western world, beginning with the same-sex eroticism of gymnasia in ancient Greece and the charged atmosphere of gladiatorial contests in Rome. After brief mentions of jousting and the Renaissance celebration of chiseled torsos, the chapter focuses on sports’ nineteenth-century reemergence as a chaste antidote to sexual desire, particularly in the movement known as “muscular Christianity.” Already by the early 1900s, however, athletes had begun to cultivate highly sexualized images. The heavyweight boxer Jack Johnson, in particular, epitomized white fears of the athletically indomitable and sexually insatiable black athlete. Even as heterosexual behavior in sports became headline news in the twentieth century, homosexuality remained hidden in the shadows until the first female tennis players began coming out in the 1980s. The chapter concludes with the rise of the athlete as sex symbol over the past three decades.
Sport in Africa
Authors: Charitas Pascal
Published: May 2017

The long arc of sport in Africa is examined in this chapter through the prism of the Anglophone and Francophone colonizations, which established the two big Western empires on the continent. In addition, the chapter traces postcolonial developments throughout the twentieth century. A particular focus is the internationalization and then globalization of African sport as part of the imperial project and the role that pioneering African sportsmen and local elites played in the process. The chapter also summarizes the growing English- and French-language scholarship on African sport and emerging perspectives on the topic, as well as suggests some possibilities for future research on sports in Africa.
Baseball’s Global Diffusion
Authors: Ruck Rob
Published: May 2017

Baseball spread beyond US borders, taking hold in the Caribbean and parts of the Pacific, but never attained the global influence that British sport achieved. A. G. Spalding’s efforts to export the game and, with it, “American” values, via his 1888–1889 circumnavigation of the world met with little success. Baseball could not dislodge British football, rugby, and cricket, which had already gained purchase abroad due to Britain’s larger global presence. In the Caribbean, where baseball became the dominant sport, Cuba, Mexico, the Dominican Republic, and other countries made the game into their own national pastimes. Baseball there, open to players of all races and nations, modeled the democratic version of sport that would not exist in US pro leagues until integration after World War II. Since then, Major League Baseball has attracted ever-greater numbers of players from abroad, first from the Caribbean and more recently from Japan and Asia.
Medieval Sport
Authors: Gleason Angela
Published: May 2017

It is widely accepted that the Middle Ages are where sports went to die. There is truth in this, but it is far from the whole story. Sports and pastimes were extremely local in the Middle Ages, making them harder for the historian to see. Compounding this, sources of the Middle Ages survive primarily in Latin, a language controlled by a ruling class that was generally unfriendly to popular expressions of entertainment. Sports in the Middle Ages, however, are neither scarce nor undiscoverable. A wide variety of popular medieval games, team sports, and athletic competitions are found in an equally wide variety of historical sources. Taken as a corpus—and including overlooked vernaculars such as Irish, English, and Norse—the sources reveal that societies of the Middle Ages had both a broad array and a deep engagement with sports. It is up to the modern historian to reveal them.
The Phonology of Language Contact
Authors: Andersson Samuel , Sayeed Oliver , Vaux Bert
Published: May 2017

This chapter surveys the impact of language contact on phonological systems. The phonology of one language may influence that of another in several ways, including lexical borrowing, rule borrowing, Sprachbund features, and interlanguage effects. Illustrations of these phenomena are drawn from interactions between English and French, Hawaiian, and Japanese at different historical periods; from Quichean languages; from Slavic-influenced dialects of Albanian; from Dravidian influences on Sanskrit; and from South African English, among other examples. The evidence indicates that language contact may lead to various changes in phoneme inventory, phonotactics, and rule inventory, or to no change at all. Analyses of the data argue against the view that language contact invariably involves simplification but suggest that markedness is an important notion in accounting for certain features of interlanguages.
Japanese (and Ainu) Aesthetics and Philosophy of Art
Authors: Miller Mara , Yamasaki Koji
Published: May 2017

Japanese aesthetics have impacted global arts and aesthetics through traditional, modern, and post-modern aesthetic categories (mononoaware, iki, or moe, haikyo respectively) and qualities (vagueness, spontaneity). This chapter traces accomplishments of Japanese aesthetics, analyzes their complexities, highlights some challenges to philosophy of art, and introduces some emerging aesthetics and new analyses of traditional aesthetics, including Ainu. Japanese aesthetics offer valuable opportunities for developing abilities that extend, modify, and deepen our range of emotional, sensory, and artistic feeling (joy, awareness of seasonal change, the beauty of folk arts) commonly recognized as the purview of aesthetics. They also enhance a range of cognitive skills, such as comprehending the ineffable, and strengthen social and personal skills such as expressing individuality, experiencing community, encountering the other and the land, and/or surviving atomic destruction. Sections address the unparalleled millennia-old importance of women’s gaze/voices and the interactions of aesthetics with fascism and with war.
Inflammatory Myopathy and Axonal Neuropathy in a Patient With Melanoma Following Pembrolizumab Treatment
Authors: Diamantopoulos Panagiotis T. , Tsatsou Katerina , Benopoulou Olga , Anastasopoulou Amalia , Gogas Helen
Published: May 2017

Immune-mediated adverse effects of immune checkpoint inhibitors are rather common, but neuromyopathic immune-related adverse events are very rare. In this report, we present a unique case of a patient with a complex neuromyopathic syndrome with axonal neuropathy and inflammatory myopathy after a single dose of pembrolizumab. An 82-year-old patient with a previously untreated stage IIIc melanoma developed ptosis in the left eye, generalized weakness, and neck and shoulder pain 15 days after pembrolizumab administration. He had left-sided ptosis and miosis, with a normal pupillary light reflex, horizontal diplopia, and voice hoarseness, along with weakness of the neck muscles and a hypokinetic right vocal cord at laryngoscopy. The laboratory evaluation was remarkable for the marked increase in the serum lactate dehydrogenase and creatine phosphokinase levels. Further evaluation revealed findings compatible with axonal neuropathy and inflammatory myopathy. The patient was treated with corticosteroids, immunoglobulin, and plasmapheresis, with a minor response; the patient eventually died. This case represents a newly described syndrome probably associated with pembrolizumab administration.
Use of Lithium in Severe Acute Manic Episodes: Retrospective Prescription Practice From a Tertiary Inpatient Unit
Authors: ÖZDEMIR ARMAĞAN , AKSOY POYRAZ CANA , POYRAZ BURÇ Ç. , USTA SAĞLAM NAZIFE G. , ENGINKAYA SEMRA , TOMRUK NESRIN
Published: May 2017

Objective:

A retrospective chart review was performed to investigate the common preferences of clinicians for the pharmacological treatment of acute manic episodes, with particular regard to lithium use, and to assess the adherence of clinical practice to established guidelines.

Methods:

Cases of manic episodes in patients admitted to Bakirköy Mazhar Osman Mental Health and Neurological Diseases Education and Research Hospital were retrospectively reviewed. Length of stay, medication data, serum levels, and adverse effects were evaluated for patients who received lithium therapy (N=98).

Results:

On the first day of lithium treatment, 81 patients received 900 to 1200 mg of lithium. In total, 44 patients were discharged with the same dose as that given on the first day of treatment. With the exception of 1 patient, the dose was increased by 300 to 600 mg in the remaining patients within the first 10 days on the basis of serum drug concentrations. The mean serum concentrations of lithium in the first week were 0.67±0.17 mEq/L in patients with no dose increase, and 0.51±0.15 mEq/L in patients who did receive a dose increase. In total, 94 patients received at least 1 antipsychotic medication in addition to lithium.

Conclusions:

Clinicians attempted to maintain serum lithium levels above 0.60 mEq/L at the time of acute treatment initiation, consistent with established guidelines. Clinical practice in large inpatient settings may force clinicians to use lithium in combination with antipsychotics for the treatment of acute mania; the delayed action of lithium and the need for rapid stabilization may drive these practices.
Calmer Life: A Hybrid Effectiveness-implementation Trial for Late-life Anxiety Conducted in Low-income, Mental Health-Underserved Communities
Authors: SHRESTHA SRIJANA , WILSON NANCY , KUNIK MARK E. , WAGENER PAULA , AMSPOKER AMBER B. , BARRERA TERRI , FRESHOUR JESSICA , KRAUS-SCHUMAN CYNTHIA , BAVINEAU JANE , TURNER MARIA , STANLEY MELINDA A.
Published: May 2017

Objective:

Anxiety is common among older adults and is associated with multiple negative outcomes. Late-life anxiety is usually unrecognized by providers and undertreated, although evidence supports the effectiveness of psychosocial treatment. Access to mental health care is especially poor among African American seniors. New treatment models are needed to expand the reach of mental health care to minority elders.

Methods:

Our article outlines a study designed to test the effectiveness and implementation potential of Calmer Life (CL), a community-based, person-centered, flexible and culturally tailored intervention for late-life anxiety and worry, offered in low-income, mental health-underserved and predominantly African American communities. CL is skills-based, but also includes resource counseling and an option to integrate religion/spirituality. The study population includes individuals 50 years of age and older who are experiencing high levels of worry. The program was developed in the context of a community-academic partnership with organizations that provide services for seniors in underserved communities, and it trains nontraditional community providers to deliver the intervention.

Results:

Study progress to date, challenges, and lessons learned are discussed. Data collection is ongoing, and study findings will be available in late 2017.

Conclusions:

CL will offer valuable information to help expand the reach of anxiety treatment among minority seniors living in underserved neighborhoods.
smallrnaseq: short non coding RNA-Seq analysis with Python
Authors: Farrell Damien
Published: May 2017

The use of next generation sequencing is now a standard approach to elucidate the small non-coding RNA species (sncRNAs) present in tissue and biofluid samples. This has revealed the wide variety of RNAs with regulatory functions the best studied of which are microRNAs. Profiling of sncRNAs by deep sequencing allows measures of absolute abundance and for the discovery of novel species that have eluded previous methods. Specific considerations must be made when quantifying and cataloging sncRNAs and multiple algorithms are now available, mostly focused on miRNA analysis.smallrnaseqis a Python package that implements some of the standard approaches for quantification and analysis of sncRNAs. This includes miRNA quantification and novel miRNA prediction. A command line interface makes the software accessible for general users.
A Next Generation Connectivity Map: L1000 Platform And The First 1,000,000 Profiles
Authors: Subramanian Aravind , Narayan Rajiv , Corsello Steven M. , Peck David D. , Natoli Ted E. , Lu Xiaodong , Gould Joshua , Davis John F. , Tubelli Andrew A. , Asiedu Jacob K. , Lahr David L. , Hirschman Jodi E. , Liu Zihan , Donahue Melanie , Julian Bina , Khan Mariya , Wadden David , Smith Ian , Lam Daniel , Liberzon Arthur , Toder Courtney , Bagul Mukta , Orzechowski Marek , Enache Oana M. , Piccioni Federica , Berger Alice H. , Shamji Alykhan , Brooks Angela N. , Vrcic Anita , Flynn Corey , Rosains Jacqueline , Takeda David , Davison Desiree , Lamb Justin , Ardlie Kristin , Hogstrom Larson , Gray Nathanael S. , Clemons Paul A. , Silver Serena , Wu Xiaoyun , Zhao Wen-Ning , Read-Button Willis , Wu Xiaohua , Haggarty Stephen J. , Ronco Lucienne V. , Boehm Jesse S. , Schreiber Stuart L. , Doench John G. , Bittker Joshua A. , Root David E. , Wong Bang , Golub Todd R.
Published: May 2017

We previously piloted the concept of a Connectivity Map (CMap), whereby genes, drugs and disease states are connected by virtue of common gene-expression signatures. Here, we report more than a 1,000-fold scale-up of the CMap as part of the NIH LINCS Consortium, made possible by a new, low-cost, high throughput reduced representation expression profiling method that we term L1000. We show that L1000 is highly reproducible, comparable to RNA sequencing, and suitable for computational inference of the expression levels of 81% of non-measured transcripts. We further show that the expanded CMap can be used to discover mechanism of action of small molecules, functionally annotate genetic variants of disease genes, and inform clinical trials. The 1.3 million L1000 profiles described here, as well as tools for their analysis, are available athttps://clue.io.

HIGHLIGHTS

A new gene expression profiling method, L1000, dramatically lowers cost

The Connectivity Map database now includes 1.3 million publicly accessible L1000 perturbational profiles

This expanded Connectivity Map facilitates discovery of small molecule mechanism of action and functional annotation of genetic variants

The work establishes feasibility and utility of a truly comprehensive Connectivity Map
Classification of gene signatures for their information value and functional redundancy
Authors: Cantini Laura , Calzone Laurence , Martignetti Loredana , Rydenfelt Mattias , Blüthgen Nils , Barillot Emmanuel , Zinovyev Andrei
Published: May 2017

Large collections of gene signatures play a pivotal role in interpreting results of omics data analysis but suffer from compositional (large overlap) and functional (redundant read-outs) redundancy, and many gene signatures rarely pop-up in statistical tests. Based on pan-cancer data analysis, here we define a restricted set of 962 so called informative signatures and demonstrate that they have more chances to appear highly enriched in cancer biology studies. We show that the majority of informative signatures conserve their weights for the composing genes (eigengenes) from one cancer type to another. We construct InfoSigMap, an interactive online map showing the structure of compositional and functional redundancies between informative signatures and charting the territories of biological functions accessible through transcriptomic studies. InfoSigMap can be used to visualize in one insightful picture the results of comparative omics data analyses and suggests reconsidering existing annotations of certain reference gene set groups.
The AAA Protein Msp1 Mediates Clearance of Excess Tail-Anchored Proteins from the Peroxisomal Membrane
Authors: Weir Nicholas R. , Kamber Roarke A. , Martenson James S. , Denic Vladimir
Published: May 2017

Msp1 is a conserved AAA ATPase in budding yeast localized to mitochondria where it prevents accumulation of mistargeted tail-anchored (TA) proteins, including the peroxisomal TA protein Pex15. Msp1 also resides on peroxisomes but it remains unknown how native TA proteins on mitochondria and peroxisomes evade Msp1 surveillance. We used live-cell quantitative cell microscopy tools and drug-inducible gene expression to dissect Msp1 function. We found that a small fraction of peroxisomal Pex15, exaggerated by overexpression, is turned over by Msp1. Kinetic measurements guided by theoretical modeling revealed that Pex15 molecules at mitochondria display age-independent Msp1 sensitivity. By contrast, Pex15 molecules at peroxisomes are rapidly converted from an initial Msp1-sensitive to an Msp1-resistant state. Lastly, we show that Pex15 interacts with the peroxisomal membrane protein Pex3, which shields Pex15 from Msp1-dependent turnover. In sum, our work argues that Msp1 selects its substrates on the basis of their solitary membrane existence.
Rapid whole-genome sequencing identifies a novel GABRA1 variant associated with West syndrome
Authors: Farnaes Lauge , Nahas Shareef A. , Chowdhury Shimul , Nelson James , Batalov Serge , Dimmock David M. , Kingsmore Stephen F. ,   on behalf of the RCIGM Investigators
Published: May 2017

A 9-mo-old infant was admitted with infantile spasms that improved on administration of topiramate and steroids. He also had developmental delay, esotropia, and hypsarrhythmia on interictal electroencephalogram (EEG), and normal brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). West syndrome is the triad of infantile spasms, interictal hypsarrhythmia, and mental retardation. Rapid trio whole-genome sequencing (WGS) revealed a novel, likely pathogenic, de novo variant in the gene encoding γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) type A receptor, α1 polypeptide (GABRA1 c.789G>A, p.Met263Ile) in the proband. GABRA1 mutations have been associated with early infantile epileptic encephalopathy type 19 (EIEE19). We suggest that GABRA1 p.Met263Ile is associated with a distinct West syndrome phenotype.
Crystal structure of Rv1220c, a SAM-dependentO-methyltransferase fromMycobacterium tuberculosis
Authors: Yan Qiaoling , Shaw Neil , Qian Lanfang , Jiang Dunquan
Published: May 2017

Rv1220c fromMycobacterium tuberculosisis annotated as anO-methyltransferase (MtbOMT). Currently, no structural information is available for this protein. Here, the crystal structure ofMtbOMT refined to 2.0 Å resolution is described. The structure reveals the presence of a methyltransferase fold and shows clear electron density for one molecule ofS-adenosylmethionine (SAM), which was apparently bound by the protein during its production inEscherichia coli. Although the overall structure ofMtbOMT resembles the structures ofO-methyltransferases fromCornybacterium glutamicum,Coxiella burnettiandAlfa alfa, differences are observed in the residues that make up the active site. Notably, substitution of Asp by His164 seems to abrogate metal binding byMtbOMT. A putative catalytic His–Asp pair located in the vicinity of SAM is absolutely conserved inMtbOMT homologues from all species ofMycobacterium, suggesting a conserved function for this protein.
The Investment Approach to Public Service Provision
Authors: Mintrom Michael , Luetjens Joannah
Published: May 2017

The investment approach to public service provision is now receiving considerable attention worldwide. By promoting data‐intensive assessments of baseline conditions and how government action can improve on them, the approach holds the potential to transform policy development, service implementation, and program evaluation. Recently, variations on the investment approach have been applied in Australia to explore the effectiveness of specific programs in employment training, criminal justice, and infrastructure development. This article reviews the investment approach, presents a Public Investment Checklist to guide such work, and discusses three examples. It concludes by considering the implications of investment thinking for the work of policy designers and public managers.
Limitations of the Swedish network coordination of oil spill preparedness
Authors: Pålsson Jonas , Hildebrand Lawrence , Lindén Olof
Published: May 2017

The management of extreme crisis situations in Sweden has shown delays in decisive actions at higher levels during emergencies, such as oil spills. This has been blamed on unclear responsibilities that undermine the decision‐making process. Confusing, conflicting, or delayed orders impede response effectiveness. This article uses network analysis and survey responses to examine the Swedish oil spill crisis management network and show the Swedish Coast Guard, Swedish Agency for Marine and Water Management, Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency and Oil Spill Advisory Service as central organizations. However, the roles of these organizations need to be clarified and communicated better to other organizations. In order to improve coordination of Swedish oil spill preparedness, it is suggested to formalize and strengthen the roles of these central organizations. Weak connections between municipalities in different counties were also observed. This weakness could be overcome by more frequent exercises across counties to improve familiarity.
Hospital and Health Insurance Markets Concentration and Inpatient Hospital Transaction Prices in the U.S. Health Care Market
Authors: Dauda Seidu
Published: May 2017

Objective

To examine the effects of hospital and insurer markets concentration on transaction prices for inpatient hospital services.

Data Sources

Measures of hospital and insurer markets concentration derived from American Hospital Association and HealthLeaders‐InterStudy data are linked to 2005–2008 inpatient administrative data from Truven Health MarketScan Databases.

Study Design

Uses a reduced‐form price equation, controlling for cost and demand shifters and accounting for possible endogeneity of market concentration using instrumental variables (IV) technique.

Principal Findings

The findings suggest that greater hospital concentration raises prices, whereas greater insurer concentration depresses prices. A hypothetical merger between two of five equally sized hospitals is estimated to increase hospital prices by about 9 percent (p < .001). A similar merger of insurers would depress prices by about 15.3 percent (p < .001). Over the 2003–2008 periods, the estimates imply that hospital consolidation likely raised prices by about 2.6 percent, while insurer consolidation depressed prices by about 10.8 percent. Additional analysis using longer panel data and applying hospital fixed effects confirms the impact of hospital concentration on prices.

Conclusion

The findings provide support for strong antitrust enforcement to curb rising hospital service prices and health care costs.
Using Photocatalyst Metal Oxides as Antimicrobial Surface Coatings to Ensure Food Safety—Opportunities and Challenges
Authors: Yemmireddy Veerachandra K. , Hung Yen‐Con
Published: May 2017

Cross‐contamination of foods with pathogenic microorganisms such as bacteria, viruses, and parasites may occur at any point in the farm to fork continuum. Food contact and nonfood contact surfaces are the most frequent source of microbial cross‐contamination. In the wake of new and emerging food safety challenges, including antibiotic‐resistant human pathogens, conventional sanitation and disinfection practices may not be sufficient to ensure safe food processing, proper preparation, and also not be environmentally friendly. Nanotechnology‐enabled novel food safety interventions have a great potential to mitigate the risk of microbial cross‐contamination in the food chain. Especially engineered nanoparticles (ENPs) are increasingly finding novel applications as antimicrobial agents. Among various ENPs, photocatalyst metal oxides have shown great promise as effective nontargeted disinfectants over a wide range of microorganisms. The present review provides an overview of antimicrobial properties of various photocatalyst metal oxides and their potential applications as surface coatings. Further, this review discusses the most common approaches to developing antimicrobial coatings, methods to characterize, test, and evaluate antimicrobial efficacy as well as the physical stability of the coatings. Finally, regulations and challenges concerning the use of these novel photocatalytic antimicrobial coatings are also discussed.
DNA Identification of Commingled Human Remains from the Cemetery Relocated by Flooding in Central Bosnia and Herzegovina
Authors: Čakar Jasmina , Pilav Amela , Džehverović Mirela , Ahatović Anesa , Haverić Sanin , Ramić Jasmin , Marjanović Damir
Published: May 2017

The floods in Bosnia and Herzegovina in May 2014 caused landslides all over the country. In the small village of Šerići, near the town of Zenica, a landslide destroyed the local cemetery, relocated graves, and commingled skeletal remains. As the use of other physical methods of identification (facial recognition, fingerprint analysis, dental analysis, etc.) was not possible, DNA analysis was applied. DNA was isolated from 20 skeletal remains (bone and tooth samples) and six reference samples (blood from living relatives) and amplified using PowerPlex® Fusion and PowerPlex®Y23 kits. DNA profiles were generated for all reference samples and 17 skeletal remains. A statistical analysis (calculation of paternity, maternity, and sibling indexes and matching probabilities) resulted in 10 positive identifications. In this study, 5 individuals were identified based on one reference sample. This has once again demonstrated the significance of DNA analysis in resolving the most complicated cases, such as the identification of commingled human skeletal remains.
Effect of Different Extrusion Parameters on Dietary Fiber in Wheat Bran and Rye Bran
Authors: Andersson Annica A.M. , Andersson R. , Jonsäll Anette , Andersson Jörgen , Fredriksson Helena
Published: May 2017

Wheat bran and rye bran are mostly used as animal feed today, but their high content of dietary fiber and bioactive components are beneficial to human health. Increased use of bran as food raw material could therefore be desirable. However, bran mainly contains unextractable dietary fiber and deteriorates the sensory properties of products. Processing by extrusion could increase the extractability of dietary fiber and increase the sensory qualities of bran products. Wheat bran and rye bran were therefore extruded at different levels of moisture content, screw speed and temperature, in order to find the optimal setting for increased extractability of dietary fiber and positive sensory properties. A water content of 24% for wheat bran and 30% for rye bran, a screw speed of 400 rpm, and a temperature of 130 °C resulted in the highest extractability of total dietary fiber and arabinoxylan. Arabinoxylan extractability increased from 5.8% in wheat bran to 9.0% in extruded wheat bran at those settings, and from 14.6% to 19.2% for rye bran. Total contents of dietary fiber and arabinoxylan were not affected by extrusion. Content of β‐glucan was also maintained during extrusion, while its molecular weight decreased slightly and extractability increased slightly. Extrusion at these settings is therefore a suitable process for increasing the use of wheat bran and rye bran as a food raw material.
Single‐cell genomics reveals pyrrolysine‐encoding potential in members of uncultivated archaeal candidate division MSBL1
Authors: Guan Yue , Haroon Mohamed F. , Alam Intikhab , Ferry James G. , Stingl Ulrich
Published: May 2017

Pyrrolysine (Pyl), the 22nd canonical amino acid, is only decoded and synthesized by a limited number of organisms in the domains Archaea and Bacteria. Pyl is encoded by the amber codon UAG, typically a stop codon. To date, all known Pyl‐decoding archaea are able to carry out methylotrophic methanogenesis. The functionality of methylamine methyltransferases, an important component of corrinoid‐dependent methyltransfer reactions, depends on the presence of Pyl. Here, we present a putative pyl gene cluster obtained from single‐cell genomes of the archaeal Mediterranean Sea Brine Lakes group 1 (MSBL1) from the Red Sea. Functional annotation of the MSBL1 single cell amplified genomes (SAGs) also revealed a complete corrinoid‐dependent methyl‐transfer pathway suggesting that members of MSBL1 may possibly be capable of synthesizing Pyl and metabolizing methylated amines.
Feasibility of an endotracheal tube‐mounted camera for percutaneous dilatational tracheostomy
Authors: Grensemann J. , Eichler L. , Hopf S. , Jarczak D. , Simon M. , Kluge S.
Published: May 2017

Background

Percutaneous dilatational tracheostomy (PDT) in critically ill patients is often led by optical guidance with a bronchoscope. This is not without its disadvantages. Therefore, we aimed to study the feasibility of a recently introduced endotracheal tube‐mounted camera (VivaSight™‐SL, ET View, Misgav, Israel) in the guidance of PDT.

Methods

We studied 10 critically ill patients who received PDT with a VivaSight‐SL tube that was inserted prior to tracheostomy for optical guidance. Visualization of the tracheal structures (i.e., identification and monitoring of the thyroid, cricoid, and tracheal cartilage and the posterior wall) and the quality of ventilation (before puncture and during the tracheostomy) were rated on four‐point Likert scales. Respiratory variables were recorded, and blood gases were sampled before the interventions, before the puncture and before the insertion of the tracheal cannula.

Results

Visualization of the tracheal landmarks was rated as ‘very good’ or ‘good’ in all but one case. Monitoring during the puncture and dilatation was also rated as ‘very good’ or ‘good’ in all but one. In the cases that were rated ‘difficult’, the visualization and monitoring of the posterior wall of the trachea were the main concerns. No changes in the respiratory variables or blood gases occurred between the puncture and the insertion of the tracheal cannula.

Conclusion

Percutaneous dilatational tracheostomy with optical guidance from a tube‐mounted camera is feasible. Further studies comparing the camera tube with bronchoscopy as the standard approach should be performed.
Validation of the No Objective Testing Rule and Comparison to the HEART Pathway
Authors: Stopyra Jason P. , Miller Chadwick D. , Hiestand Brian C. , Lefebvre Cedric W. , Nicks Bret A. , Cline David M. , Askew Kim L. , Riley Robert F. , Russell Gregory B. , Hoekstra James W. , Mahler Simon A.
Published: May 2017

Background

The no objective testing rule (NOTR) is a decision aid designed to safely identify emergency department (ED) patients with chest pain who do not require objective testing for coronary artery disease.

Objectives

The objective was to validate the NOTR in a cohort of U.S. ED patients with acute chest pain and compare its performance to the HEART Pathway.

Methods

A secondary analysis of 282 participants enrolled in the HEART Pathway randomized controlled trial was conducted. Each patient was classified as low risk or at risk by the NOTR. Sensitivity for major adverse cardiac events (MACE) at 30 days was calculated in the entire study population. NOTR and HEART Pathways were compared among patients randomized to the HEART Pathway in the parent trial using McNemar's test and the net reclassification improvement (NRI).

Results

Major adverse cardiac events occurred in 22/282 (7.8%) participants, including no deaths, 16/282 (5.6%) with myocardial infarction (MI), and 6/282 (2.1%) with coronary revascularization without MI. NOTR was 100% (95% confidence interval [CI] = 84.6%–100%) sensitive for MACE and identified 78/282 patients (27.7%, 95% = CI 22.5–33.3%) as low risk. In the HEART Pathway arm (n = 141), both NOTR and HEART Pathway identified all patients with MACE as at risk. Compared to NOTR, the HEART Pathway was able to correctly reclassify 27 patients without MACE as low risk, yielding a NRI of 20.8% (95% CI = 11.3%–30.2%).

Conclusions

Within a U.S. cohort of ED patients with chest pain, the NOTR and HEART Pathway were 100% sensitive for MACE at 30 days. However, the HEART Pathway identified more patients suitable for early discharge than the NOTR.
Nalmefene Prevents Alcohol‐Induced Neuroinflammation and Alcohol Drinking Preference in Adolescent Female Mice: Role of TLR4
Authors: Montesinos Jorge , Gil Anabel , Guerri Consuelo
Published: May 2017

Background

We previously showed that, by activating innate immune receptors Toll‐like 4 (TLR4), adolescent intermittent ethanol (EtOH) exposure causes neuroinflammation, myelin damage, and behavioral dysfunctions. Recent findings reveal that clinically used opioid antagonists naltrexone (NT) and naloxone (NX) inhibit opioid‐induced TLR4 signaling and that NT, NX, and nalmefene (NF), the 6‐methylene derivative of NX, are able to reduce alcohol drinking escalation.

Methods

NF (0.1 mg/kg, intraperitoneally) was injected 1 hour prior to EtOH (3 g/kg, intraperitoneally) following intermittent treatment in female (PND35) adolescent mice. Inflammatory molecules, myelin proteins, and apoptotic markers were assessed in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) and striatum/nucleus accumbens (STR/NAcc). The effect of NF on alcohol drinking preference was evaluated in both the wild‐type and TLR4 knockout (KO) adolescent mice. Using astroglial cells, the inhibitory potential of NT, NX, and NF on lipopolysaccharide (LPS), or the EtOH‐triggered TLR4 response, was compared.

Results

Our findings indicate that NF prevents the up‐regulation of cytokines (IL‐1β, IL‐17A, TNF‐α), chemokines (MCP‐1, MIP‐1, KC), and pro‐inflammatory mediators (iNOS, COX‐2), along with myelin damage and apoptotic events, in both PFC and STR/NAcc. NF also abolishes EtOH‐induced escalation of alcohol preference/consumption, but has no effect when administered to TLR4‐KO mice. In vitro experiments indicate that NX and NF inhibit TLR4 activation upon LPS or EtOH stimulation. Immunofluorescence studies and lipid rafts isolation show that NF is able to prevent TLR4 translocation to lipid rafts/caveolae in astrocytes.

Conclusions

These results suggest that NF prevents neuroinflammation and brain damage by blocking the TLR4 response and also support the role of central pro‐inflammatory immune signaling in the modulation of alcohol consumption/addiction.